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- VARANASI
DOWN THE AGES.

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Publisher :
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Printer :
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——

PREFACE

No apology is needed for writing a book on Varanasi, nor for
writing it in English, because no full-blooded book has yet been
written about this holy city.. Books written by Europeans merely

describe what they saw or heard from hearsay—and even of these the

last was written in 1909, and they areall out of print too. Some modern
authors writing in English have given us only sketchy books. Books
written in Hindi cannot be of much profit to Westerners interested in
ancient Indian lore—or to Indians not proficient in that language.
It was for these reasons that I decided to clothe my thoughts on
the subject in English garb.

One or two new viewpoints have been presented here about the
development of religion in this holy city and some fallacious thinking
on the part of previous writers has been challenged. If these impel
our modern Social historians to undertake researches in these spheres,
my labours would be more than rewarded.

Old writers on Varanasi, whose books have provided valuable
information—and sometimes views too—have placed me under a
debt which I thankfully acknowledge. I am also conscious of my
indebtedness to hundreds of friends, who have given me help in
my labours extending over twenty five years and more. It is my
regret that it is not possible to thank them individually here and
I offer them all my grateful thanks and sincere apologies for this
omission. Dr Bhanu Shanker Mehta and Sri Ram Krishna have helped
me in crystalizing my ideas on Varanasi culture and otherwise
and Dr. Nilkanth Joshi, Director of the U. P. State Museum has
been of great help in all spheres. So have been Dr Jagannath Misra
and Sri Jwala Prasad Misra, and I gratefully acknowledge their
kindness.

= Rai Krishna Das, the great art critic and litterateur, who has seen —

Varanasi from inside for eighty years and more, has kindly seen the
manuscript and offered valuable suggestions. I cannot express my
gratitude to him in adequate words. The Bharat Kala Bhavan

has been generous in . permitting me te use of its collection, and

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some others possessing old paintings have done the same, I offer
them my sincere thanks. My debt to Princepis immense and I
express my gratitude in that connection.

I am also very much beholden to the Proprietors of the Bhargava
Bhushan Press for having undertaken to print this book and to
Professor Kameshwar Nath Sukul for agreeing to publish it.

Varanasi : Kubernath Sukul
Ram Navami 2031 S.

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ba]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter

2
3
4.
5:
6
7
8
9

10.
11

12.
13:
14.

The Kingdom of Kasi and the City of Varanasi
Trade and Commerce ae

. Agriculture, Crafts and Allied Ane

Music and Dancing ;
Educational set-up including Physical Culture
Development of religion at Varanasi
Varanasi’s Religious Set-up
Religious and Monastic Institutions ..

Saints and Spiritual Giants of Varanasi
Fairs and Festivals —

The River Front i
Varanasi in the Nineteenth Century

The Varanasi Culture

Appendix

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Dp D Np

een

PORES

pà peù pud pud
OONAN

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Clay-Sealing of the Bahvricha Charana -
Clay-sealing of the Sarva Traividya
Terra-cotta plaque showing the swinging damsel

The Stone Capital of the Maha Shmashana Sule ne

Sarnath in the Gupta period .. -

Mir Rustam Ali

The sleeping open-air apartments

The Western facade of the Gyanvapi Mosque
The Gyanvapi area in 1665 A. D.

The Bharat Milap Fair at Nati Imli

. A scene from the Ram Lila Celebrations

The Burhwa Mangal Festival (line drawing)
The Burhwa Mangal (painting )
Chhote Paramhansa

. Swami Vishuddhanand Saraswati
. Eve of a Lunar Eclipse

Maharaja Isvari Prasad Narain Singh z
M. M. Gangadhar Shastri Manavalli, C.I.E. ..
M. M. Bapu Deva Shastri, C.I. E.

. Waidyaratna Triambak Shastri Joshi

Kaviraj Satya Narain Shastri (Padma Bhushana)

Page
10
10
10

10
11
60

61
180
181
242
243
258
259
260
260
261
308
309
309
309
309

‘ . ~
(4 ia > sse —_——— I SS re eee, NEE ee =

> ee

VARANASI DO

CHAPTER 1

_ THE KINGDOM OF KASHI AND
THE CITY OF VARANASI

Even though for the last several centuries the two
names Kashi and Varanasi have been used for the city
and have been fully exchangeable yet in the hoary past
they represented. different entities. Then Kashi was the
name of the Kingdom and Varanasi was its Capital. In-
the Atharva Veda Samhita Kashi did not refer to the city
and even the Mahabharata mentions two Janapadas —
Kasheya and Apar Kasheya. In the Maha Janapada age
Kashi was the name of the Janapada and Varanasi was
its Capital (Cambridge History of India). In those days
Koshal Janapada was in the North, Magadha in the
East, and Vatsa in the West of Kashi Janapada. On this
strength Dr. Altekar places its eastern and western bound-
aries at Ballia and Kanpur respectively. He also presumes
that its southern boundaries were somewhere in the Vin-
dhyas. Rahul Sankrityayan, however, differs with this
view and according to him the extent of the Kashi
Janapada practically coincided with that of the present
Varanasi Division. Dr. Motichandra seems to agree with
the latter view but is of opinion that some portions of
the present Gorakhpur Division were also patt of the
Kashi Janapada in those days. |

Be that as it may, there is no disagreement on the
point that Varanasi was the Capital of this Janapada at
all times.

In regard to the synonymous use of Kashi and: Varanasi

it may be mentioned that some of the Jatakas do mention

~
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A

2: VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Kashipur or Kashinagar occasionally, but generally the —

city is referred to as Varanasi. By the Seventh century
A. D., however, Kashi was being used for the city also
as is proved by the use of the term “Kashiti Vikhyatam
puram” used in Maharaja Prakataditya’s stone inscription
discovered at Sarnath. It may in this connection be
pointed out that centuries before that time an independent
Kingdom of Kashi had ceased to exist and it was rapidly
changing hands between the Kingdoms of Koéhal and
Magadha, although the king of Koshal had at one time
placed his brother on the throne of Kashi as a gesture of
goodwill to the Kashyas.

What were the limits of the Varanasi city in those
eatly days can be partially gleaned from the Jatakas and
early Jaina books, the Puranas or earlier Sanskrit sacred
books giving absolutely no indication about the city.
There the terms Varanasi and Kashi are invatiably used to
refer to the Dharma-Kshetra concerned, the boundaries
of which were well-defined, and they did not always
coincide with the boundaries of the city as will be
presently seen. .

On the strength of material available, supplemented
with knowledge gained from archaeological sources, it
may be assumed that in the earliest days the city was not
very extensive. It is certain that in the days of the
Mahabharata the city as well as the Dharma Kshetra
extended on both sides of the Varana river as the sacred
spots mentioned therein are situated on both sides of
the latter. Besides even a casual visit to Sarai Mohana

(area to the north-east of Varanasi) will convince anyone

that an extensive city existed there in the earliest days,
teaching very near Sarnath in the north. Havell believes

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a ee oes Os et P
=e atsa eme w 4 anaa ce og iua i l 4 Seni 3

mi O ee ee eee ee ee ee oe al

THE KINGDOM OF KASHI AND THE CITY OF VARANASI 3

that this was the Buddhist city, which sprang up in con-
sequence .of Buddha’s associations. (Benares the Sacred
City -Havell p. 42). He, however, ignores the evidence
of the Mahabharata, which clearly states that the area
concerned was central part of the Varanasi Dharmakshetra,
and the ruins clearly indicate that it was part of the city
too. Besides the name Varanasi itself has been derived
from the ancient name of Varana—Varanasi, which is
found in the Mahabharat and from which the name of
the city situated on its banks was derived as Varanasi. In
the second century B. C. the city extended along the
banks of the Ganga (vide Patanjali’s Mahabhashya). This
fact has been corroborated by the excavations near Raj-

‘ghat, where Mauryan and Shunga strata have revealed the

existence of the city, which continues till the Gupta period.
To the west of the confluence of the Varana and Ganga
there is a high plateau on which stood a fort upto the
twelfth century A. D. Mauryan pottery is extensively found
in these parts and also stone images and idols, which
shows that the city was situated from the confluence upto
Rajghat quite upto the Gupta period. Later on, the city
continued to grow towards the west and south west and
in the twelfth century it extended upto near Gaighat—
where an old gate still exists and is called Patan Darwaza
(Sanskrit Pattana Dwatam ) which means the city gate
and even today the gate is surmounted by a stone
image of Genesha belonging to the ninth century.
Towards the west of Rajghat is situated the ward called
Bhadaun, which has been mentioned in the copperplate
grant of Maharaja Govind Chandra Deva, made in
the early twelfth century under its Sanskrit name of
“‘Bhadrya”’ i

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o

4. "+ = `. "VARANASI. DOWN THE AGES

According to the Jatakas there was a city-wall round
Varanasi which had a circumference of 24 miles}, and an
earthwork of this kind did exist till the last century, to
which Sherring testified as an eye witness. He says “on
the whole, it appears not unlikely that this long embank-
ment was the old bounndaty of the city in this direction.
The embankment may have been carried on, originally,
to the Ganges in a straight line with its present direction,
or making a short circuit it may have entered it by Telia
Nala”’ (Sherring—Benares the Sacred City of the Hindus.
P- 300) “The ridge is in one part formed of three terraces,
the uppermost being perhaps thirty feet above the land”
(Ibid p. 302). |

In 1035 A. D. Varanasi was looted by Nialtagin but he
stayed in the city for only a few hours and left it, as he
had come, by the river. Soon after, however, Syed Salar
Masud, sister’s son of Mahmud. of Ghazni, started from
Ajmer on his mission of spreading Islam, and although
he himself went towards Gonda, one of his followers
Malik Afzal Alvi led a campaign against Benares and
teached as far as the present Kashi Railway Station. There
seems to have been a fiercebattle and the invading army was
annihilated. Those days, however, had: there own ethics
and the civilians accompanying the army were permitted
to live unmolested in a distant corner, which subsequently
was called Alavipura and still exists under that name.
These Muslims became loyal subjects of the Hindu rulers
of Varanasi and in the late eleventh and early twelfth
centuries established two settlements in-other parts of the
city and named them Madanputa and Govindpura after

(1) SORT aa ATA Wie eni wah |

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THE KINGDOM OF KASHI AND THE CITY OF VARANASI 5

Maharaja Madanpal and Maharaja Govind Chandra Deva
tespectively. The former was the great grand father
and the latter grand father of Jaya Chandra. These
Mohallas (quarters of the city) are still inhabited mostly by
Muslims.

Later, Benares was invaded by Kutubuddin Aibak

Commander-in-Chiefof Mohammad of Ghor in1194A.D.
and this time the Muslim army was victorius. The fort of
Varanasi at Rajehat fell and was razed to the ground, and
the city was looted and as the Muslim historians them-
selves say a thousand temples were pulled down and the
-booty sent to the Muslim overlord on 1400 camels. A
` governor was appointed, who ruled rather ruthlessly; but
somehow Benares again succeeded in shaking off its
shackles and Kutubuddin had to reconquer it in 1197
A. D. This time sterner measures were taken to per-
petuate the new administration. There are, however, no
further details available except that in Balban’s day
Haji Idris was the governor, who lived quite near
Gaighat, and whose name is still preserved in.the name
of the locality as Hajidaras Mohalla.

As has been said eatlierthe city was at that time situated
north east of Gaighat inside the then city gate—Patan
Darwaza. With the destruction of the Rajghat fort, citizens
who lived within the ramparts, had to find some other place
to live and the present locality known as ‘Garhvasi Tola’
(Living place of old residents of the fort) was founded by
clearing the forest. This process of cutting the forest
and establishing living localities is famousin Benares lore
under the name of Pankati (Cutting down of the forest) In
course of time people from other localities near the fort

area, which was under the direct heel of the local Muslim ae :

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6 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

~ governors, shifted to more and more distant places towards
the South.and thus the city grew in a southerly direction.
This process has continued eversince and is continuing
today also and as the population has grown, the city has
gtown southwards too. The northern portion was gradu-
ally becoming inhabited also but by Muslims, whose
numbers were growing fast because of conversions and
other similar factors. It may be noticed that these
northern localities are even today inhabited by Muslims
generally and bear names after Muslim governors and
others. e. g. Jalaluddinpura, Jamaluddinpura, Rasulpura,
Qazi Sadullapura etc.

The ancient town of Varanasi from the third century
B.C. to seventh century A. D. as has been laid bare in the
' Rajghat excavations consisted of houses big and small
built along narrow streets with temples interspersed
" here and there, and this pattern continued to be the norm
even afterwards right upto the seventeenth and even
eighteenth centuries. Later on the well-to-do citizens
built - garden-houses on the outskirts of the then city
but they never became their permanent residences. ‘This
does not, however, mean that there were no gardens in the
city proper. Small gardens could be found in very large
numbers in the middle of congested areas and as Greaves
says “one is able to realise to some extent what a con-
gested population there is, and yet is surprised to find,
however, that even in the most densely populated areas
there are little patches of green (single trees or tiny gar-
dens.” (Greave’s Kashi the City Illustrious p- 32). It
seems that in ancient times this was the usual pattern of
city planning, because in most of the older towns of nor-
thern India one finds the same plan. Agra, Mathura, and

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THE KINGDOM OF KASHI AND THE CITY OF VARANASI 7

old Delhi all exhibit similar patterns. In fact Havell
goes further and mentions similar conditions in Spain and
Southern Italy. He says “There is a great deal of pictur-
esqueness in the narrow alleys, but, if it were not for the
temples and the people it would be easy to imagine one’s
self tobe wandering in an old town of Spain or Southern
Italy” (Havell—Benares the Sacred City. p. 75).

An effort has so far been made to provide a picture of
Varanasi City along the ages, but Varanasi and Kashi were
not only civic units. They were big and large religious
units also and that aspect of theirs was and still is, the more
important, both for those who lived in this holy city and
those living thousands of miles away, who aspired to pay
their homage to it some day. To distinguish these from
political units of the same name they have been called
Kshetras. Thus there was a Kashi Kshetra anda Varanasi
Kshetra and both of them had well defined boundaries.
Some western writers and modern Indian historians have
made the mistake of confusing the political and religious
units and the result has been chaos. On the basis of this
error they have declared that Varanasi is not in its old
place or the northern portion of Varanasi city is Kashi and
more sacred etc etc. Some of them have-even gone so far
as to declare that even the more important temples have
moved southwards along with the growing city. It is,
therefore, worthwhile to study this matter more carefully.

The earliest details about the religious unit Varanasi
Kshetra now avaliable are from Linga Purana and ex-
cerpts from some other Puranas, which were authoritative
books in 1110 A. D. As is evident therefrom the different

religious entities were in the same position then as they
are now. Adikeshava was and is near the Varana-Ganga ~

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8 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

confluence. Shaileshwar was and is in the extreme north
on the banks of the Varana tiver. Lolarka was and is near
the southern most point of Asi and Ganga’ confluence
and Durgakund to its west. Gokarna and Dhruveshwar
marked and still mark -the western limit. The earliest
Site of the temple of Visvesvara is clearly mentioned on
the spot where Razia’s mosque now stands.1 Quotations
from the Brahma Purana and Matsya Purana on that same
date say clearly that Varanasi Kshetra spread between
Varana and Asi tivers north and south and was about
five miles east and west and also that it was about
a mile north and south in certain portions. ‘The
name of the Asi river as given there is Shushka Nadi
(dried up.tiver). | ve

AS has been observed earlier Kashi was a larger unit
than Varanasi and its teligious boundaries have vatied
from time to time. On the authority of the Padma Purana,
in the earliest period it was on the top of three hillocks
and it was this fact that bestowed upon it the distinct-
lon of being situated not on earth but on Shiva’s trident.
Subsequently its boundary was a circle of about ten miles
tadius, and yet later the Kshetra was cut down to a chariot
shape by the removal of the pottion on the eastern side of
the Ganges, Still later it was reduced towards the North
also and became of the shape of a Conch, which is its
Present shape and it is round this unit that the Pancha
$$

1. This is not the place to quote original texts but those
interested may see the Tirtha Vivechana Kandam of Kritya Kalpa
Taru by Lakshamidhar Bhatta, Published in Gaekwad’s Oriental
Series, 1942 Edition pp. 44, 54, 118, 118, 113, 114, 90, also
pp. 39-49.

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cr

THE KINGDOM OF KASHI AND THE CITY OF VARANASI 9

Kosi perambulation is performed. At first sight it may
appear a little confused, but this variation in size is a
reflection of historical events. The first stage is the
position in the hoary past when the Aryans established
themselves in Kashi, which was formerly a Non-Aryan
Kingdom (the details of this to be discussed later). Even
now Varanasi is situated on three distinct mounds. One
North-East of Varana is in ruins, the second from Varana
confluence to Dasaswamedha Ghat and the third from
Dasaswamedha Ghat to Asi-confluence.

The third stage was*reached when Magadha Kingdom
conquered the portion east of the Ganges, which becom-
ing enemy territory was banned for pilgrimage, and the
last stage represents the present one when the Kingdom
of Kosala usurped the northern portion. It may also be
accounted for by the developments consequent on
Sarnath becoming a rival religious centre.

As has been said earlier the area south of Gaighat
was full of forests, and the temples and sacred spots were
interspersed inside the forest area. When inhabitants
of the old town built up new localities, these were set
up near the various temples, the surrounding forests being

cut down to provide necessary space. Thus in the course:

of several centuries a large number of residential localities

sprang up all over the Kshetra area—and these localities.

took the names of the prominent temple there. Very
many of these names still persist, even though many of
them have received new names. A look at Princep’s
map would show these localities and their names—and as
time went on the forest area gradually diminished but the
names ofits various portions continued and maybe traced
even today. Thus Bhadravana has given us Bhadaini,

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10 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Daru-Vana has yielded Daranagar, Bilva-Vana has
become Belvaria and so on.

The plan of the town that sprang up in this manner, was
inevitably irregular and the old pattern of small houses situ-
ated in close proximity of oneanother, with narrow lanes
running between them, which was the universal pattern
in the oldentimes all over India, and which had been follow-
ed in Varanasi itself from the Mauryan period onwards,
continued to form the basis of thie new colonies that were
set up between 1194 A. D. and the end of the sixteenth
century, and the collective name given to them was Pucca-
Mohal—meaning a locality with houses built of bricks and
Stones. If any one wants to see teal Varanasi, he has
to wander about in these narrow and winding lanes—
about which Havell’s opinion has been already quoted.
Some of these lanes are ten to fifteen feet wide but the
Majority of them are very narrow and tortuous. ‘The
space occupied by the various houses being small, their
height usually ran to several storeys—three and four bein
the norm. V ;

- Very many of them, however, were even higher,
eure up to the seventh storey. Naturally, therefore, the
streets were dark and i ; K
Ponce ee cee even act the only redeeming
es presence of innumerable small gatdens

spersed all over. While this kind of town-plannin
cramped the atmosphere ; P P 6
ld ki Sphere, it provided better security than
wou ave been possible otherwise. At many street
cornets there were gates, which were closed at night or on

occasions of dance anak Rae
et or public disorder. It was for this

reason that Varanasi esca d looti se gis

ped looting by Muslim troops on

severa casi
I occasions. These streets were and still are also

interspersed with temples h
ate pies Here and there, both big and

em quite beautiful, and the tinkling

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m ;

“HE KINGDOM OF KASHI AND THE CITY OF VARANASI 11

of bells in the morning and evening and on other occa-
sions of worship, produces an atmosphere of harmony

and cheer.
In course of time the outskirts of this area were sur-

rounded by gardens and gardenhouses—and the various
ponds, the number of which in Varanasi was legion,
enhanced the beauty of this surrounding area—and got
Varanasi the name—City of Gardens.

This completes the picture of Varanasi as it was and
as it developed over the ages. It is, however, incomplete
without a description of Sarnath, where Buddha preached
his first sermon, and where a new city of temples and mon-
asteries grew up thereafter.

Sarnath

After seeing Light and obtaining Buddhahood, the
Buddha decided to preach his first sermon to the five

Brahmans, who had left him when he renounced the path

of Hathayoga, and for this purpose he started for Varanasi
but stopped at Isipattana Mrigadava (Deer park—the
present Sarnath), four miles to the north-east of Varanasi
across the Varana river. Buddha, however, met the five
Brahmans before reaching this place and later on Asoka
built a large stupa at present seventy four feet in height
made of solid brickwork (now surmounted by an octa-
gonal tower built in Akbar’s day to mark the ascent of
the mound by Humayun). It is known as the Chaukhandi
stupa. Later Buddha delivered his first sermon, known

in Buddhist phraseology as Dharma-chakra-Pravatana, to

the five Brahmans and converted them. This spot was
again marked out by Asoka with a stupa in front of which

he also placed one of his famous pillars, the four-lion —

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12 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Capital of which, discovered almost intact, has given India

its State Emblem. ‘This Stupa was known as the Dharma-

rajika Stupa. Asoka also built another stupa in which
Buddha’s relics were deposited in a green marble box—
placed inside a bigger stone box. ‘This stupa originally
had a diameter of 49 feet but it was repaired by Sthirapal
and WVasantapal in 1026 A. D. and an additional layer
of brickwork 163 feet in thickeness was built around it
thus increasing the diameter to eighty two feet. Unfor-
tunately this was dug out by Jagat Singh to build Jagat-
ganj near the Queen’s College and only the foundations
have been preserved but they have their own story of its
splendour to tell. By an irony of fate instead of being
called as Asokan Stupa it is now known as Jagatsigh
Stupa after the name of its spoliator.

Asoka also built a third Stupa believed to be at
the Site of the conversion of the five Brahmans. ‘This
is called the Dhameka Stupa., It was renovated in the
Gupta period and its outer surface was lined with carved

“stone-work, which is the pride of Varanasi Sculpture.
The first Vihata at Sarnath was however, built by Yasha
the son of a wealthy merchant of Varanasi, who was one
of the earliest pupils, and a large number of buildings
had already been built before Asoka appeared on the
scene. In the seventh century A. D. there was the mon-
astery of the Deer Park, surrounded by a wall on all sides
with fout gates, inside which were two storied palaces and
a Vihara 200 feet high according to Huen Tsang. Inside
there were a hundred rows of niches each one of which
had a statue of Buddha in embossed gold. There was also
a big statue of Buddha in bronze. ‘There were also quite
a large number of small Stupas to mark the location of

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THE KINGDOM OF KASHI AND THE CITY OF VARANASI 13

various activities of the Tathagata (Buddha) and three
tanks.

Thus a township developed at Sarnath inhabited by
the Buddhist monks and others and there were a very large
number of buildings, Aramas, Viharas, and temples. The
queen of Maharaja Govindchandtra also built a Vihara
there in twelfth centuty. |

Starting from the sctatch with Buddha’s own teachings,
Sarnath became a centre of the Mahayana cult and towards
-the end of the twelfth century it was a stronghold of the
Vajrayana School of Buddhism, when the sword of Islam
fell on it and the township was sacked and burnt. It was
excavated by Colonel Mackenzie in 1815, to be followed
in 1835 by General Sir Alexander Cunningham, and
subsequently by Major Kettoe and Mr. Thomas in 1851.
In 1905 Mr. O.F. Ortell also did some excavation and
soonafter, the work was taken up by Sir John Martial, the
Director General of Archaeology in India. As a result
of these excavations a large number of foundations and
broken walls were dug out in situ and confirmed the glory

that had fled. Hundreds of stone sculptures of immense
value and of usnurpassed beauty were discovered, which

Gan be seen in the Museums at Calcutta and at Sarnath ©

itself.

The Lion Capital, the State emblem of India, was
discovered here and is now in the National Museum at
Delhi. There are in the Sarnath Museum several superb
statues and sculptors ranging from the third century B.C.
to the twelfth century A. D.—the excellence of which it
is difficult to describe.

In 1921 the rejuvination of the site was taken in hand

by Anagarika Dharmapal by whose efforts and with the S=

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14 VARANASI DOWN: THE AGES

active help of the Mahabodhi Society, a beautiful temple—
Mulgandha Kuti Vihara—was built and a replica of the
famous Gupta period image of Buddha was installed there.
Later, the famous Japanese artist Kasetsun depicted on its
inner walls incidents of Buddha’s life which are very beauti-
fuland soul-stirring. Soonafter the Chinese built a temple
in the Chinese style, in which a statue of Buddha in the
Bhumisparsh mudra has been installed. Then there are
the Burmese temple, monastery, Rest House and Library.
Some other Buddhist nations like Thailand and others
have also putchased land in the locality for constructing
temples in their own style of architecture. The Govern-

- “ment of India have also spent several lacs of rupees in

beautifying the locality and providing accommodation to
visitors. There is a deer park and a waterfall, in the
beautiful lawns which provide a suitable setting for all
that is old and also all that is new.

Of the sculptures discovered the pride of place obvi-
ously goes to the Mauryan Lion Capital and the monolith
stone railing found in the foundations of the Southern
Chapel. The broken pillar with its Ashokan inscription
speaks for the greatness and skill of the artisans of those
days. There ate quite a large number of sculptures cover-
ing the Shunga period, and the Kushan period provides
the collosal statue of a Bodhisatva in the standing posture.

. It was constructed in the third year of Kanishka’s reign, -

and unlike most other statues of the place is made of red

Mathura stone. It was donated by Friar Bala. The

Gupta petiod, however, carries the palm in providing
the largest number of sculptures as well as in their artistic
beauty. Buddha’s statue in the Dharma Chakra-

ptavartan Mudra is a piece of exceptional excellence.

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THE KINGDOM OF KASHI AND THE CITY OF VARANASI 15

So is the Avalokiteswara icon of the Mahayana School.
The floral and geometrical decorative designs on the
Dhameka Stupa have been already referred to as pethaps
the best specimens of decorative att in the Gupta period.
Besides these Buddhist sculptures quite a large number
of Jaina and Hindu icons have also been discovered at
Sarnath. There afe also two temples — one of the Jaini’s
in honour of Tirthankar Sreyansa Nath and the other of
Siva, known as Sarnath (the latter being originally built
of Mauryan bricks), which attracts tens of thousands of
pilgrims on every Monday of the month of Sravana from

Varanasi and neighbouring villages.
Origin of the name of the Kingdom and the Town

Quite several hypotheses have been variously put
forward to expain the derivation of the name of the
Kingdom as Kashi. One derives it from the Sanskrit root
‘Kash’ and makes it mean “that which shines”. Another
makes Kasha, a king in the twelfth generation from Manu,
its founder. Yet another derives it from the richness of
Kasha (a kind of grass) in the locality. But all these
etymologies ignore one basic fact and that is that in the
Atharva Veda the name of the residents of this locality
has been given as “Kashi”. (i to be pronounced as in
sit?) It is obvious, therefore, that the name of the locality
was already Kashi in those days and as will be shown later
the locality was at that time under the rule of Non-Aryans.
Thus the name Kashi must have been given to the place
by its Non-Aryan masters long before the Aryans took

possession of it. l
‘In regard to Varanasi the derivation of the name is

simpler though it has

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16 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

exercise of grammarians, Originally its derivation was
simple — a town situated on the banks of the river Varanasi
(the first and the third “a” to be pronounced as ‘w’ in cut
and the second as in “‘far’’), which is the ancient name of
Varana as given in the Mahabharata. This name is also
present in one or two other Puranic quotations from the
Matsya Purana and has also been used by Ashwa Ghosha
in his Buddha Charitra (15/44). After the trans — Varana
portion of the city was abandoned its northern boundary
did actually become Varana (which name became current
after the Gupta period i. e. after the fifth century A.D.)
and its southern boundary was in fact Asi also called
‘Nashi’ in the Jabal Upanishad (which cannot be placed
later than Mahabharata) although it had dried up before
the fifth the century A. D:, when it was known as Shushka
(the dried up river). So grammarians found it easy to
combine the two and declare that the place situated
between Varana and Asi was Varanasi and this derivation
got ready acceptance and became commonplace, replacing
the old derivation in the public mind.

The question now remains as to when the Aryans took
possession of Kashi and when the township of Varanasi
was founded and who was its founder. To answer these
we have to delve deep into ancient literature. The Shatapa-
tha Brahmana, the date of which has been accepted between
1200 B. C. and 800 B. C., mentions that Videgha Mathava
made his journey of conquest towards the east inthe hoary
past in the wake of a big forest fre, which starting from
Kurukshetra spread eastwards and stopped only when
it reached the Szadanira tiver (modern Gandak), and
that the entire land thus traversed came under the
Atyan sway. Surely it was in this campaign that Kashi

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THE KINGDOM OF KASHI AND THE ‘CITY OF VARANASI 17

too was conquered and occupied. That it was formerly in
the possession of Non-Aryans is proved from a quotation
from the Atharva Veda, where it is invoked that Takma
(Malaria) be driven away to the land of the Mujavans
(North Kashmir), and the Vahlicans (residents of Balakh),
and to people yet distant, which places had been its old
home. It is further said that “we offer Takma (Malaria)
to the residents of Gandhara -(modern Kandahar),
Mujavan, Kashi and Magadha (Bihar) as a servant and
as a present’”! l
From this it is obvious that Kashi was enemy territory,
as no one would offer a present of fever to friends. It is
further to be noted that this version of the Mantras is
found in the Pippalada version of the Atharva Veda only.
In the Shaunakiya and other recensions the word `
See ee

(0) amq ma Ts afaa aT TREAT
[ Atharvaveda V. 22-7]
Go fever to the Mujavans or further to the Bahlikas
—[ Griffth’s translation ]
THA AAAI: RNN ATTA: |
taq aafaa sate aaa cheats I
[ Atharvaveda V. 22-14 Pippalad version }
THA WAATATSS A ATA: |
gaa safna dafa ara aafe 1
[Atharva veda V. 22-14
Shaunakiya and other Versions ]
In the Pippalad Version the translation would read as :—
We to Gandharis, Mujavans, to Kashis, and to Magadhas.
Hand over Fever as it were a servant and a thing of price.
In other versions :—
We to Gandharis, Mujavans, to Angas, and to Magadhas.
Hand over Fever as it were a servant and a thing of price.

[Griffith's Atharva veda Vol, IP. 225]

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18 ‘ VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

“Kashibhyo” has been replaced by ‘Angebhyo’ and the
invocation therein sends Takma to the residents of Anga
(Eastern Bihar) instead of Kashi. The conclusion is,
therefore, obvious that at the time of the Puppalad version
Kashi was enemy territory, while at the time of Shaunakiya
and other versions, it had become friendly territory and
the more eastern Anga desha had become enemy territory.
This clinches the issue, and if any further corraboration be
needed it is provided by Yaska in his Nirukta (seventh
centuty B. C.), where it is said that Kikata country (South-
ern Bihar) is inhabited by non-Aryans. )

To judge the time factor in these events one has to
remember that the Shatpatha Brahamana has been dated
between 800-1200 B. C., and the campaign of Videgha
Mathava has been mentioned therein as an event of very
distant past. Then this event also occured long long before
the Mahabharat war which took place at the latest between
1000 and 1200 B. C. if not between 1200 and 1400 B. C.,
for in that war a Kashiraj was present. The approximate
date for the occupation of Kashi by the Aryans and for
the establishment of an Aryan Kingdom there thus comes
to be placed somewhere before 1800 B.C.—almost at
2000 B. C.

This fact is further corraborated by a quotation from
the Maha Govind Sutta of Diggha Nikaya—a Buddhist
authority which says that Varanasi city was founded long
long before Buddha by Mahagovinda the Brahman minis-
ter of king Renu with the latter as its first overlord and `
Dhritarashtra as the first sovereign. Now Renu was the
Son of Vishvamitra according to the Aitereya Brahman
(7/17/7) and the Sankhyayana Shrauta Sutra (15, 26, 1),
and Vishvamitta’s defeat in the Battle of Parushni is

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THE KINGDOM OF KASHI AND THE CITY OF VARANASI 19

mentioned in the Rigveda. The founding of the Aryan
kingdom of Kashi and the City of Varanasi may thus be
taken to be simultaneous events.

Besides Varanasi, the city has had other attributive
names given to it at different times by different classes
of people. Buddhist Jatakas have mentioned several
of these. Dr, Moti Chandra has enumerated
some of them. The Udaya Jataka calls it “Surundhan’,
the Sutsoma Jataka ‘Sudarshana’, the Sondand Jataka
Brahmavardhana, the Khandahal Jataka ‘Pushpavati’, the
Yuvanjaya Jataka ‘Ramma Nagar’, and the Sankha
Jataka “Molini.” Inthe second centuty B. C. the business-
men called it ‘Jitvari? for they got great profits there
It is obvious from a perusal of these names that they em-
phasise one or the other of the qualities of the great city
viz. its protectedness, its beauty, its great philosophical
statute, its profuseness of flowers, which is even now
recognised, and its commercial importance, most of
them being of an ephemeral nature, but one of them
“Brahma Vardhana, which depcts its importance as a
centre of philosophical learning deserves pointed notice.

After the establishment of the Aryan Kingdom and
the founding of its capital Varanasi, the Aryans there
specialised in learning and erudition, and as time progressed
a great galaxy of learned men and philosophers grew up,
which earned for it the name of Brahma Vardhana, and
one of its kings Ajatasatru (not to be confused with

another Ajatsatru—the patricide) was a noted philosopher x

in his day. A similar centre of this kind was also developing

(1) Vanijo Varanasim Jitvariynpacharanti.
| [ Mahabhasya IV-3-72] —

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. - kei ie

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20 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

simultaneously in Behat—the Janakpur in Mithila—where
Janakas were the Kings. In course of time the fame
of this latter seems to have surpassed that of Varanasi
because in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishada, it is clearly
mentioned that Ajatashatru, the philosopher king of
Varanasi on being told by Gargya Balaki that the latter
would give a discourse on ‘Brahma’, exclaimed that he
would give him a thousand cows simply for his having
= cometo his court at Varanasi for this purpose instead
of going to the court of Janaka at Mithila as every one
seemed to do (Brihadaranyaka Upanishada 2, 1,1,), and
in the course of Balaki’s discourse Ajatashatru showed
him that the former’s philosophic hypotheses were errone-
ous. It was this aspect of Varanasi’s life that earned it
the name of Brahma Vardhana—the philosophical light-
head.

It may be noted here that Brahmavarta, land round
about Kurukshetra, was still the holiest of the holy and
Varanasi and Mithila though famous for philosophical
supetiority were mot yet accepted as holy places. The
eastern limit of the Madhya-Desha the holy land occupy-
ing the second place in matter of sacredness stopped at
Prayaga (modern Allahabad). We have, therefore, yet to
find when Vatanasi came to be accepted as a holy place.
The Mahabharata clearly mentions Varanasi as a place of
pilgrimage and this is perhaps the earliest indication of the
recognition of its holiness; but the very fact of its being
mentioned there also indicates that this status had been in
existence for some considerable period before its enumera-
tion in the list of holy places there. The present version
of the Mahabharata has been dated about 500 B. C. There
is also a mention of the holiness of Varanasi by Valmiki the

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THE KINGDOM OF KASHI AND THE CITY OF VARANASI 21

author of the Ramayana and also in the Jabala Upanishada.
Both these authorities are contemporary of, if not earlier
than the Mahabharata. It is obvious, therefore, that
Varanasi had been recognised as a holy place long before the
fifth or even sixth century before Christ. In fact, Buddha’s
choosing Varanasi as the appropriate place to preach his
first sermon, known as the Dharmachakra-Pravartana,
indicates that Varanasi was already being considered a
. Stronghold of Brahmanical religion, and this takes us quite
a couple of centuries earlier, if not a little more. _

The Puranas give quite a long list of kings of Kashi -
and though it is not possible to fit them in the time
Sequence as we understand it, yet it is obvious that they
all belong to. the period prior to the Mahabharata war
and that isapretty far cry: So we have to be content at
that, so far as those ancient—almost prehistoric—ruletrs
of Kashi are concerned.

After the Mahabharata war the kingdom of Kashi
came in for trouble. It was attacked by Vasudeva
Krishna’s army and the town of Varanasi was burnt down.
This may be taken to be the beginning of the end of
Kashi’s independence for ultimately it fellto Magadha and
Kosala Janapadas by turns and became united there- `
with. At this time we came across the term Kashi-
Kosala very frequently. According to Buddhist Jatakas —
it was Kansa, the king of Kosala, who conquered the
Kashi Janapada and united it with his own kingdom and
thus secured the title of Varanasiggaho. Later on towards
the end of the sixth century B. C. when Bimbisar the
Magadhan king married Kosala Devi the daughter of king
Mahakosala of. Kosala, he received the village Kasik
as some sott of ‘pin money’ for the bride. After the ~

\ is
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OD Sites § VARANASI DOWN THE AGES ~

murder of Bimbisar by his son Ajatasatru, and the death
of the Kosala Princess his queen, Prasenjit, the new
king of Kosala claimed back this village of Kasik anda
series of wars were fought in this connection. As a
result of the last confrontation, the king of Kosala was
victorious and thus the Kasikgrama was re-conquered,
though subsequently a peace treaty was concluded and
Prasenjit married his daughter Vajira Devito Ajatasatru
and once again gave away the Kasikgrama to her as had been
done by his father before. This incident clearly proves
that Kashi Janapada had lost its independent status and
had been’ under the sway of the Kosala kings for some
considerable time. Prasenjit, however, placed his brother
on the Kashi throne as a subsidiary king to give the Kashi
people some sort of satisfaction, but Kashidid not remain
under the Kosala kings for long and towards the end of
Ajatashatru’s reign Kashiand some parts of Kosala were
incorporated in the Magadha kingdom and thus even
this subsidiary role of the Kashi King came toan end and
the dual term Kashi-Videha came into use.

The Bauddha Jatakas have also enumerated a large
number of Kashi Kings but, as has. been said before, it
has not yet been possible to place them in any regular
time--sequence
Development of Varanasi over the years

Having cast a glance at the history of Varanasi since
its inception as a city and also the geographical and other
details about it during the earlier stages and the expansion
of the town in the middle ages and after Muslim occupat-
ion, we may now examine how it developed over the ages
and eatned for itself a name and a fame unsurpassed by
any other city in India and perhaps even outside.

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THE KINGDOM OF KASHI AND THE CITY OF VARANASI 23
F

In the earliest period of its existence, with Emperor
Renu as the overlord and King Dhritarashtra as its king,
the city had a well-established administration. Its new
masters, the Aryans, were a cultured and educated people,
who had brought with them the best traditions of Vedic
religion and culture from the Sapta Saindhava region.
It had been but recently conquered from the non-Aryans
and it must have taken sometime to smoothen out the
post-war angularities, but after that had been achieved, its
development along contemporary normal lines proceeded
at quite a rapid pace for soon enough the king decided
to perform the Asvamedha (Horse-Sactifice). It must
_ be remembered that a very large number of craftsmen and
others efficient in various other fields are needed in the
performance of this Yajna, and a full complement of them -
must have become already available. Unfortunately the
horse was captured by Shatanika Satrajit, king of Kuru-
panchala in the west. ‘This indicates that the country to
the north and south of that kingship had already accepted
_ the political authority of the Varanasi King but the western
states had not done so. Thus the sacrifice remained
incomplete and had to be given up in despair. But the
vow taken by the people of Kasi (including Varanasi)
not to worship the daily sacred fire (Shrauta-agni) till
they had revenged this defeat, is a glowing evidence of
their organization and unity of purpose. Defeated in

the west, Dhritarashtra seems to have fixed his attention
(1) daqatenradissiieread areata eft Tae: |
[ Shatapatha Brahmana [ 13-5 7

The ressidents of Kashi gave up the worship of the Shrautagni

because they said that.drinking of Soma had been snatched away

from them. ; ;

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2A ' © VARANASI DOWN THE: AGES

towards the east and soonafter conquered the Angadesha
(Eastetn Behar) from Non-Aryans; and thus retrieved
the lost prestige of his kingdom by extending its area.
During all this period the people of Varanasi were
specialising in the various professions and skills in
accordance with the tenets of the Varnashrama Dharma,
(dividing the citizens in to four categories Brahmana,
Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra) and in due course the
city of Varanasi became a prosperous city, with special-
ists, in all spheres of life of that period. Vedic learning
in its various aspects, arts of war, crafts and agriculture,
all had their full share in this development. ‘There were
learned teachers living in Ashramas, where the Vedas and
other sister disciplines were taught, and a life of purity
and austerity was practised and thus inculcated in the
pupils. The kings were learned too and one of them
Ajatasatru outshone some of the Brahman sages in his
knowledge of Philosophy. The atmy was well-organised
and the Vaishyas developed the various arts and crafts.
Centuries passed in this manner and the progress
continued till a Kashiraja participated in the Mahabharata
wat as atespected colleague of the Pandavas. Yet later,
as the Jatakas tell us, Varanasi had become the most import-
ant city in Jambudwipa (Asia)—[Gullala Jatak]. It had.
a flourishing commerce, and opulent commercial magnates,
who wete called the Shreshthis (the modern word Seth
has been derived from this sanskrit word). The Dirgha
Nikaya also confirms this fact. According to the Babbu

` Jataka one of the businessmen of Varanasi had buried gold )

worth forty crores in the ground for safety, in addition
to what was needed for everyday business. There were
sevetal persons of this financial status in Varanasi. In

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THE KINGDOM OF KASHI AND THE CITY OF VARANASI 25

fact, according to Sumangal Vilasini only that person was
considered affluent in the days of Buddha who possessed

at least forty crores in cash, and who bought and sold

maunds of copper and silver coins every day. Agriculture
and cow-breeding wete two prominent professions and
thereafter came trade and commerce, and art and crafts,
and Varanasi had already become famous in the latter
combination viz. commerce and art and crafts, as we shall
presently see. Butthe fameof Varanasi didnot rest on
its commerce and craftsmanship alone, nor on its art.
There was another and perhaps a more durable foundation
for its developing greatness. Eversince the capture of
Kashi by the Aryans and the foundation of Varanasi, the
latter had become a centre of learning, where notable
thinkers and learned men where being produced—and as
time progressed these academic giants created a name
for their city. Obviously, in the beginning Vedic lore
‘was the subject of special study and the Vedangas must
have received particular attention,, This naturally led
to the astablishment of Ashramas, in which learned men
lived and taught, and soon enough they gained such fame
as to attract pupils from far and near. Kuddakapatha
Atthakatha tells us that some educational institutions of
Varanasi were older than those of Taxilla (p.198). A
little later, another centre of learning developed at Taxilla,
‘which was ultimately outshone by Varanasi, but there

-was a free exchange of pupils between these two academ-

ic centres at all times. It is said that graduates of
Taxilla came and settled down at Varanasi and they
further developed the fame of thistown. Unfortun-
ately, the political conflicts brought about by Greek
‘and Scythian invasions resulted in Jaxilla’s decline,

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26 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

but free from these diversions, Varanasi not only
held its old place but even progressed, and in the Gupta
period it reached the zenith of its fame as a centre of
learning as we shall see in a subsequent chapter.

Religion was yet another sphere in which Varanasi
shone, and that too with an effulgence that dazzled into
insignificance other places of religious importance. Start-
ing from the scratch it built for itself the most honoured
place in this sphere also—and is considered as the holiest
of the holy in India today, to which flock Hindus of all
leanings from Kanya Kumari (Cape Comorin) to Kashmir,
and from, Dwarikato Manipur and Tripura. In factit has
been said of Varanasi that it is India in miniature, for here
one can see ‘representatives of all states in India in their
true form and colour, speaking a variety of languages
and presenting a picturesque pageant of different kinds of
dresses—in varied shades from the palest blue to deeper
notes of indigo and crimson’ (Havell).

It is not the Hindus alone, who yearn for a visit to
Varanasi. They are joined in this yearning by the Jainis
from all over India, and Buddhists from all over the world,
and today one could see hundteds of American and
_ Europeans jostling in the crowds at the ghats or in the
narrow lanes of Varanasi.

Writing about the antiquity of Varanasi, Reverend
M. A. Sherring, usually an adverse critic, observes “when
Babylon was struggling with Nineveh for supremacy,
when Tyre was planting her colonies, when Athens was.
stowing in strength, before Rome had become known, or
Greece had contended with Persia, or Cyrus had added
lustre to the Persian monarchy, or Nebuchadnazzar had
captured Jetusalem, and the inhabitants of Judaea had

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THE KINGDOM OF KASHI AND THE CITY OF VARANASI 27

been carried into captivity, She (Varanasi) had already
risen to greatness, if not to glory. Nay, she may have
heard of the fame of Soloman, and have sent her ivory,
her apes, and her peacocks to adorn his palaces’”

In another place he writes “Benares represents India
religiously and intellectually, just as Paris represents
the , olitical sentiment of France. There are few cities
in the world of greater antiquity, and none that have so
uninterruptedly maintained their ancient celebrity and

distinction.’

Dr. Hobert Fael Waxy of the University of Vienna
goes a step further. He writes “as a Historian I am in
a position to assert that the citizens of Varanasi are pri-
vileged to be placed in a divine atmosphere by having
taken birth in the lap of Indian civilization, the greatness
of which cannot be compared with the history of any
other place in the world.” |

And perhaps the last word on the subject has been =
said by the Iranian poet Sheikh Ali Hazin, who settled
down in Varanasi a little after 1739, and who refused to
leave it even to return to his homeland, with his famous
couplet which means “I will not leave Benares, because
it is a general place of worship, where every Brahman is
the son of Ram and Lachhaman.* Not only this, he
also asserts that it was at Benares that he found peace.
«Sare shorida bar baleen-i-asaish rasid inja”.

1. The Sacred City of the Hindus by Rev. M. A. Sherring p- 7.
2. Preface to the above book p. 1. ;
3. Quoted by Dr. R. B. Pande in his book ‘History of Hinduism’

Page 71. |
‘4. The couplet runs “Az Banaras no rawam Maabad-i am ast inja.

Har Barahman pisare Lachhman-o-Ram ast inja.”

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CHAPTER 2
TRADE AND COMMERCE

We have seen before that Varanasi was already the
most important city in Jambudwipa in the Jataka times

according to the Gullala Jataka because of her flourishing ©

commerce and it is but proper to discuss this matter in
some detail. As a centre of Vedic culture in the earliest
period of its history there was enough cattle wealth in
Varanasi to make the city overflow with milk and honey
and the granaries of her farmers were bursting with
agricultural produce—for how could the city become
wealthy otherwise ? |

Handicrafts, another important source of wealth, were
considered the very sine-qua-non of respectability. They
had a double role to play. On the one hand they utilised
the raw material produced by the agriculturists and on the

other they provided them with useful articles; but of this
anon.

Later on, quite a number of handicrafts were
prevalent in Varanasi in Buddha’s day as we shall presently
see and some of these could be looked upon almost as
industries. The silk-cloth trade of Varanasi for example:
engaged a very large number of artisans and was of such
excellence that a single piece thereof fetched a hundred.
thousand Karshapans in the distant parts of India and in
foreign lands Mahapadma Sutra). ‘Then there were the
metal Industry and the manufacture of cotton textiles and
woollen cloth. The jewellers of Varanasi were famous too-
and so wete the artists who worked in Ivory.

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- anasa S E ee Sre Ea

TRADE AND COMMERCE. : 29

All these industries and crafts combined to make
Varanasi the foremost city in India at the time.

There was another important factor which contributed
to the city’s greatness. It enjoyed unusual transport
facilities both by the road and river systems. It was also a
central market for articles from all over India, and horses
from Sindh and elephants from the Himalayan forests
were available here at regular well-organised fairs.

There is evidence to show that handicrafts were not
conducted merely on an isolated or individualistic basis,
but that there were well-organised guilds called Shrenis or
Senis. There were eighteen such guilds according to the
Jatakas (Jatakas vol. VIp.22) and of these at least four have
been definitely mentioned at Varanasi in the Jatakas viz
the Vaddhaki Seni, the Kammart Seni, the Chammakar Seni,
and the Chittakar Seni, and Gupta period seals of two more
Vatanasyatanyaka Shreni and ‘Gavayaka Shreni’ have been
discovered in the excavations of 1940 at Rajehat. Each
of these Senis had a ‘jeththaka’ as its head, who was an
elected official; and who exercised a certain amount of
administrative authority recognised by the king. Business-
houses too had jeththakas, and in this case they were of
special importance — for some of them were taken in the
king’s cabinet as ministers (Urag Jataka). Jeththakas also
disposed of quarrels between the workmen of their guild.

Then there were business magnates called Shreshthies
(giving us the current Hindi epithet Seth), who owned
crores and crores of Karshapans as has been already men-
tioned and and it was these, who formed the backbone
of the City’s commerce. They carried on business

in a large way — arranging to transport huge quantities of —

menchandise across the country in all directions. There is

. 2

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30 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

mention of Varanasi merchants going to Bharoch from
here, and from Sravasti (Gonda District) to Thana and
Surat in the south or to Rajgraha in Bihar. Thus one
merchant has been mentioned as carrying five hundred
bullock — carts laden with red-cloth from Varanasi to
Sravasti, but as he could not cross a river on the way
he stopped on the wayto sell his ware Dhammapatha
Katha). Similarly another Varanasi businessman is found
bringing sandalwood from Pratyanta (Paramatha Jataka-
Jatakas vol. II p. 523). A Varanasi-merchant is also re-
corded as going to Taxilla on a business venture (Dhamma-
patha Katha: Vol. Ip. 123). Varanasi also had trade
relations with the Cheti Country (modern Bundelkhand)
and Ujjain (Jatakas vol. II p. 248 and Vo. III p. 365).
The prestige enjoyed by the Shreshthis in society was
very great indeed. In fact they received considerable dis- `
tinction at the hands of the King, who very often treated
them as friends and maintained social relations with them.
King Prasenajit of Kosala actually went in the marriage
party of Mrigar Shreshthi’s son and stayed at Saket for
severalmonths. Anideaofthewealthofthese Shreshthis
can be gathered from the fact that in this very marriage the
bride Vishakha’s father Seth Dhananjaya actually got
an ornament named ‘Mahalata? made for her costing
nine crores and had given her 5400 cart-loads of money
for her toilet expenses (Anguttra Nikaya). The bride’s
father-in-law had given her one ornament valued at a
lac of Karshapans. The bride (Vishakha) had also taken
with her five hundred cart-loads o“ copper, silver, and gold
vessels each and an equal number of carts carrying silk
and other valuable clothes, besides 60000 oxen and an equal
number of cows. (Vishakhaya Vaththu of Dhammapad

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TRADE AND COMMERCE 31

Aththakatha). The Varanasi magnate Yasha, who was
the first person from Varanasi to embrace Buddhism,
is mentioned as owning forty crores (Dhammapaththa
Katha).

In the Gupta period, there was at Varanasia guild of
merchants owning more than a crore called a ‘Nigama’.
Six seals of this institution have been recovered in Rajghat
excavations. Three of them give names of their presi-
dents as Bharat, Sridatta and Shauryaddhya. |

We must remember that Varanasi lay on the way from
the eastern to the western parts of India and most of the
businessmen going about east and west visited it on their
way to end from their destination. It was also connected
by direct roads with all other important centres of the
time. Thus we come across frequent mention of business
contacts between Varanasi and all the important places in
‘India. It enjoyed the same privilage in the matter of river
transport also.

Besides this inland commerce, Varanasi merchants
also carried on business across the seas. ‘They carried
their merchandise from Varanasito Suvarna Bhumi (South
Burmah) by boat via ‘Tamralipti. (Sankha Jataka).
Some of these voyages occupied up to six months at a time.
Balahassa Jataka mentions a group of five hundred Vara-
nasi merchants going to Ceylon by river and sea. Milind-
panho actually mentions merchants voyaging to China
in connection with business transactions. Journeys to
Malaya, Indonesia, and Indo-China were also undertaken
(Apadan). In later times this sea-route (V aranasi— Tam-
ralipti— Suvarnabhumi — Malaya, Indo-China — China) was
a regular means of transport between China and India.
On the western side, both land and sea routes were used.

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32 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

The highway that joined Tamralipti with Taxilla via
Rajgriha and Varanasi continued beyond to Central and
Western Asia. (Baveru Jataka). Similarly starting from
Bharoch vessels laden with merchandise went up to the
Persian gulf. It was by a combination of these western sea
and land routes that Varanasi silks and ivory articles
reached Babylon, Greece and Rome. The Greeks called
Bharoch by the name of Berigaza (Macctindal’s India
as described in Classical Literature), which in itselfis an
evidence of its contact with Greece. [It also finds a
mention in ‘Periplus of the Erythrian Sea p. 40.] Radha
Kumud Mukerji actually mentions Indian merchants
carrying on trade with Arabia, Egypt, and some other
countries of the Mediteranian Sea.

So far as commerce was concerned the transport system
was well-organised also. Those trading by land-routes
were called Thala-patha-Kammika, while those travelling
by tivers and over sea-routes had the designation of Jala-
patha-Kammika. Both these groups had their own
guilds and their leader was called a Jetthaka or Seththi.
These latter were not only wealthy merchants but were
also treated as representatives of their guild by the kings,
and received honoured treatment and in one Jataka (Vol. V
p. 382) one Jeththaka has been called “‘Raja-pujito, Nagar-
Janapada-pujito” (Revered by the king and the citizens
of the town and the Janapada). In bigger guilds he was
assisted by an Anu-Setthi (Deputy Setthi).

These commercial magnates belonging mostly to
Grahpati Vaishyas carried on international and inter-state
business on their own, there being no international or
even inter-state contacts on governmental basis. This
_ is suggested by the fact that there is no mention any

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TRADE AND COMMERCE 33

where about kings taking any part in these matters. There
is only one reference in which the king of Kosala, Prasen-
jit, requested the Magadhan King Bimbisar to send one or
two Shreshthis to his Capital as there were none in his
kingdom and the latter sent Dhananjaya the famous
Shreshthi of his kingdom, who settled down in Saketa and
in whose daughter’s marriage Prasenjit was present on the
bridegroom’s side as mentioned earlier. The king, how-
ever, did realise some sort of octroi on the merchandise
at check-posts set up near big cities and at river-crossings.

As the land journeys were very often performed
through jungles there was always the danger of dacoits
and so several merchants going in one direction combined
under the superintendence of a temporary “Sanykuta Jeth-
thaka’ (joint-Jeththaka) and elaborate arrangements were
made for watch and ward. ‘There is mention of a group

of 500 dacoits in one place and also that the road between

Chedi and Varanasi was infested with them. There was
a separate officer called “Thala Niyyamaka’, who was tes-
ponsible for camping on the way and for the safety and
security of the combined Sarthavaha (Caravan), and
who had under him quite an army of watch and ward
men. ;
Inland commerce dealt with the products of the vatious
crafts tobe mentioned subsequently in connection with
those crafts, or with agricultural products and animals
and Varanasi was a central market forthem all, for
example mules and horses from Kamboja, elephants from
northern Behar, pedegreed dogs from Kekaya (Valmiki
Ramayan), and peacocks and other birds from different
places. Cows and bullocks were of course on sale in large

numbers. International commence however, dealt chiefly

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34 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

with textiles, specially finesilk, and cotton cloth of Varanasi,
the former fetching fabulous prices, shawls of Shivi and
blankets from Gandhara, swords and daggers of Dasarna,
semi-woollen cloth also from Varanasi. Sandal prepara-
tions for the toilet and articles of ivory were also exported
from Varanasi. So were gold ornaments and jewellery.
Silk cloth embelished with gold and studded with gems,
head-dresses for kings made of Kanchana Patta, silk inter-
woven with gold thread and embedded with gems were
also supplied by Varanasi (Mahapada Sutta, Mahaparinir-
vana Sutta), and peacoks and other beautiful birds were
also exported.

It was the richness and variety of these articles of
commerce at Varanasi which impelled Macaulay, not
always a friendly critic, to say “Nor was superstition the
only motive which allured strangers to that great metro-
polis (Varanasi). Commerce had as many pilgrims as
religion. All along the shores of the venerable stream lay
gteat fleets of vessels laden with tich merchandise. From
the looms of Benares went forth the most delicate silks
that adorned belles of St. James’s and of Versailles: and
in the Bazars the muslins of Bengal, and the sabres Oudh
were mingled with the jewels of Golcunda and the shawls
of Cashmere.” [Macaulay’s Warren Hastings]. Obviously
he is writing here about the conditions in the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries, but Reverend Sherring, already
quoted inan earlier chapter, speaks of Varanasi as having
pethaps sent her ivory, her apes, and her peacocks to
adorn Solomon’s palaces. |

We do not know what articles of import were brought
back by our merchants from China, or from South East
Asia, nor from Central Asia and southern Europe, for

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TRADE AND COMMERCE 35

these have not found mention in the Jatakas or elsewhere
in any detail, but we know that they brought the price of
their articles in gold and sometimes in precious stones and
corals as well. Obviously these latter could have come
only from Central Asia, Burmah and Ceylon.

In local trade and in transactions in India currency
was generally used, although barter was also prevalent
in small transactions. It would, therefore, be worth-
while to examine the system of coinage prevalent in the
Buddhist and pre-Buddhist periods.

The most common coin during this period was the
Kahapan (Karshapan), which was made of copper and also
of silver. The former was being used for petty transactions
and the latter, called Rajat also, in bigger business and com-
merce. Specimens of both these varieties have been dis-
covered in great numbers in archaeological excavations.
There were also current Addhakahapan (half Kahapan),
Pada (one fourth), and Masak (one twentieth). The price
of the copper Kahapan at the time in terms of modern
currency has been variously guessed, but the consensus
seems to be that its purchasing power at the time was
about as much as that of a rupee and a quarter or a
shilling as it was before the first world-war. The gold
coins were called Hitanja (Hiranya), and the biggest coin
in this line was the Nikkha (Nishka), which weighed
about ten ounces of pure gold.

An idea about the value of these coins can be gathered

from some of the transactions at the time. A pair of

bullocks cost 24 Kahapans, and a donkey about 8 of them.
A bundle of grass cost a Masak and the daily wages of a
labourer were a Masak or addha-masak (half-masak). A
well-bred horse cost 1000 to 6000 Karshapans.

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36 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

A local copper coin bearing the figure of a horse on
the obverse and the Ujjani symbol and the words Varanasi
in Brahmi script of the first century B. C. has been
discovered at Rajghat—but it is not possible to say.
whether it was struck by the king or by the Shreshthi-
Shreni or Nigama of Varanasi,

Grain was not weighed but measured, and the usual
unit was the Nali, which was perhaps equal to 50 ounces
or a seer and a half in weight. This measure is even now
cufrent in the hill tracts of Almora and is still called Nāli.
It is a tubular wooden vessel closed at one end and might
have been made of bamboo pieces in earlier times. A
smaller unit of weight was the Pattha (Prastha), equivalent
to about 8 ounces or 4chhataks anda bigger one Drona.
A still bigger unit was called amna, which appears to be
the ancestor of the Indian Man (maund of 40 seers) of
today.

The above accounts have been gathered from the
Jatakas for the most part and cover the period from the
sixth to the fourth century B. C. Kautilya’s Artha Shastra
enables us to study conditions obtaining later, but as it
deals with generalities and has Pataliputra or Rajagriha for
its centre, we can say little about Varanasi on that basis.
We do, however, gather from that wonderful book the
impression that things continued to improve in all spheres
during the Mauryan period, and we have evidence to
show that this improvement continued, in spite of
occasional breaks due to disturbed political situations,
tight up to the seventh century A. D., when India had her
golden age in the Gupta period.

Archaeological evidence has come forward to support
this view. Senis or Shrenis of Craftsmen atu continued.

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>, TRADE’ AND COMMERCE ` ‘37

and although osily two seals ofsuch institutions have been
discovered at Rajghat in 1940 as mentioned earlier the
richness and profusion of craft material during this period
ensures the existence of other Shrenis too. The Kumbhakar
Shreni of potters, which produced such wonderful clay
toys and other articles, which are the pride of all import-
ant museums, and the Manikar Shreni, the members of
which produced such beautiful beads of precious and
semi-precious stones, and the Karmakar Shreni which
gave us the beautiful jewellery of the period were all at
the height of their glory. Then there was the Shreni of
Stone-cutters, who developed the famous Varanasi style
of sculpture, and samples of whose workmanship can still
be seen on the facade of the Dhameka Stupa at Sarnath.

_ During subsequent centuries the arts declined but the
Commerce of Varanasi continued to flourish and it was
considered a rich city all through the middle ages and even
afterwards. Yet later even in the fourteenth century
and onwards it was a prosperous city and its silk and
brocade industry continued to bring it wealth and fame.
Accotding to Ralph Finch (1583-89 A. D.) it was also a
market centre for the articles from Bengal, and of course
it continued to be a centre for the manufacture of fine
cotton cloth too. Yet later (1665) Tavernier observes
that Banaras was famous for its brocade, and the far-
flung markets of the world were kept full of it. The
same was the case with its cotton textiles. Its business in
jewellery also continued to flourish.

During the Eighteenth century also the same condi-
tions prevailed but in the nineteenth century things went a

little awry consequent on the East India Company flooding —

the market, with foreign material at rates with which the

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38 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

local crafts could not compete. ‘Thus while the bankers
and business-magnetes continued to have plenty of money,
the craftsmen became poor and continued to grow poorer.
‘The brass-business, however, kept flourishing and thus
the commerce as a whole kept its head above water, and
in this matter the brocade business also continued to
play its ever-important role.

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Cai

CHAPTER 3
AGRICULTURE, CRAFTS, AND ALLIED ARTS

In the chapter on Trade and Commerce we have seen
the flourishing condition of Varanasi over the ages. We
have now to study the various crafts which were respon-
sible for this opulence.

Agriculture and Animal Husbandry.

The foremost place in this matter has to be given to
agriculture and along with it to animal husbandry—the
care of animals—specially the cow and its progeny, which
were essential for the proper performance of agricultural
processes.

As agriculture was the chief occupation in the villages,
it was spread all over the country and the number of
wealthy farmers was quite substantial. Inthe Vedic times¢
only Vaishyas were connected with this profession and
were assisted by the Shudras and Dasyus as workmen,
` but by thetime we reach the Jataka age this caste restrict-
ion had broken down and Brahmans had also taken to
agriculture. Kashi Bharadwaja Sutra and Samykta Nikaya
mention, Kasi Bharadwaja ( a Brahman) carrying on agri-
culture with 500 ploughs at a time. Similar other cases
are also mentioned in the Jataka literature. Apart from
individual holdings, there were also common holdings,
called gam-khetta in which there were plots belonging to
different families of the village and as the plots wete
clearly marked by water-channels or otherwise, the term

joint farming could be applied to them. ‘These different —
plots were rectangular or squate and were placed in regular

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40 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

tows, which pleased Buddha so much that he suggested
preparation of Chivara (Cloth sheets for the Bhikkhus) on
a similar pattern by sewing together small square pieces of
cloth of different colours (Vinaya Pitak). The Gamika or
Gam Bhojaka(who may be compared to the Gram-Pradhan
of today) was specially responsible for these village-farms
and he also enjoyed’ certain powers in this connection.
Some of these fatms were very extensive indeed and the
Suvarana-Kakkata Jataka actually mentions a farm of 1000
Karises (8000 acres according to Maleskar). The agti-
cultutal processes of the times were almost the same as
obtain today, but the ploughing process-was considered
a matter of national importance (Sihachamma Jataka),
and the Shakyas actually observed Bappa-mangala, a festi-
val of ploughing and sowing, in which a thousand ploughs
worked simultaneously and the king himself drove a
‘plough along with his ministers (Jataka-First-Volume-
Kausalyayan’s translation p. 75). ‘This fact clearly shows
the great importance and even the Status that agriculture
enjoyed in those times. ‘The people in general were well
Supplied with grain and were happy (Thera Gatha).

Paddy was the chief cropin Eastern U. P. and Magadha
at the time and several varieties of these were known and
sown. Barley, Kangu (probally Kakuni or Bajra), gram,
Mung and Urad, Til (Sesamum), Sarso (mustard), and
castor-oil-seeds were also grown. Betels were quite in
vogue and along with them betelnut trees were also
planted. Sugarcane was extensively grown and Gur .
Qaggery) and sugar were also manufactured (Jatakas.
_ Vol. TI p. 240). Two diseases of paddy and sugarcane
have also been mentioned (Vinaya pitaka). Cotton was
also extensively sown—and a very fine variety of it

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AGRICULTURE, CRAFTS, AND’ ALLIED ART 41

was specially cultivated round about Varanasi, for ‘the
manufacture of fine cotton textiles. ( Tundil Jataka).
Onions and garlick were also cultivated, so` were bottle-
gourds and cucumbers. Fruits received adequate attention,
and the gardener of a Varanasi King is said to have had
the technical skill of making sour mangoes sweet and
vice-vetsa. (Jatakas. Vol. V p. 3). Flowers too were
grown for making flower garlands (Vinaya pitaka) by the
Malakaras or Pannikas (the present day Malis).
Irrigation by the construction of small dams on rivers
was carried on in some places but most farmers depended
on the rains only. It was, however, the duty of the
king to make provision for seeds by the distribution of
Bija Bhatta (advance for the purchasing seed like takavi
of today). The king levied tax (known as Ranjobhaga)

on land. It was usually collected in the form of one-tenth

of the total farm-produce (Jatakas Vol. II. p. 378); which
was later on raised to one-sixth (History and Culture of
the Indian People). On suitable occasions the king
exempted farmers from paying the tax altogether too.

The cow continued to be treated with respect in that
period too and well-to-do persons decorated their cows
with bells and covered them with sheets of cloth (Digha
Nikaya). Every village had a certain piece of land for
gtazing cows, and there were petsons who took cows
for grazing on payment (Jatakas Vol. I. p. 193-194). The
number of cows kept by individuals, was quite large, the
kings owning thousands of them. Mahasudassana Sutta
tells us that the king of that name owned eightyfour
thousand milch—cows, all covered with cloth and
decorated with bells. ‘Thus there was plenty of milk
and milk-products in the countty.

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42 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

In addition to cows and their protectors there were
Ajapals also, who looked after sheep and goats and
collected their wool (Jatakas Vol. IV. p. 363).

Crafts

Handicrafts, as already mentioned earlier, had an im-
portant role to play in the national life and they command-

ed respect. In Vedic times too crafts were considered —

important and by Panini’s time they had well-defined
names, which ate mentioned in his Ashtadhyayi.

The Jatakas, however, give as plenty of information
about these crafts and specially about Varanasi’s specialisa-
tion in this matter.

In Buddha’s day the craftmanship of the bridegroom
was carefully scrutinised before marriages could be fixed
up. This was trueat all social levels including the highest —
that of Princes. In fact according to Lalita Vistara
when Shuddhodana (Buddha’s father) asked Dandpani
Shakya for his daughter Bhadra Kalyani’s hand for his
own,son Siddhartha (Buddha himself), the latter replied
that it was the Kula-dharma (family tradition) of the
Shakyas not to marry their daughters with persons who
were not proficient in handicrafts and as the Kumara was

not so qualified, how could he marry his daughter to him?
The Prince, however, showed his proficiency in several
handicrafts and so the marriage was fixed up [Jatakas Vol.
I. p. 76]. Proficiency in domestic crafts was also conside-
ted essential in the case of girls e. g. handicrafts connected

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gmna T fetal acre gfeat menfa 1

[ Lalita Vistara p. 143 ]

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AGRICULTURE, CRAFTS, AND ALLIED ART 43

with cotton or wool spinning. (Angathera Nikaya
Vol. III. p. 37-38).

A very large number of crafts were in vogue those
days, out of which twenty five have been enumerated in
the Samanjaphal Sutta of Digha Nikaya, and king Ajata-
satru while commenting on this list had actually
exclaimed that surely there were many other crafts not
enumerated there (ibid). We would, however, consider
only those which had importance at Varanasi and in
these the craft dealing with spinning and weaving
occupies the first place.

Spinning and Weaving and. allied crafts

At Varanasi cloth was made from cotton, Kshauma
(thread produced from linseed fibres), and silk, and also
from wool (both pure and mixed with one of the above
three.) (Maha Sudarsan Sutta of Digha Nikaya 2-4).
Varanasi cloth was famous for its fine texture, softness,
smoothness, and polish on both sides. In fact the cloth
in which Buddha’s body was wrapped after his Pari-
nirvana came from the looms of Varanasi and it was so
very fine and soft and yet woven so tight that it would not
absorb even oil [Maha Parinibbana Sutta’s Commentaty
5, 26]. Varanasi cloth was ‘called Kasi Kuttam or Kasey-
yaka or Varanaseyyaka, of even Kasiya. The cotton
employed was fine-fibred, the women spinners were
clever and the weavers expert in their trade and water
of Varanasi soft and well suited for washing the material.
Thus the cloth produced was soft and smooth on both
sides (Ibid). The Tundil Jataka speaks of cotton culti-

vation neat Varanasi and its processing by women. $
workers— and spinners, Who supplied the fine thread

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44. _.. . VARANASI -DOWN THE AGES

to the city weavers. .Needle-wortk was also done on
these cotton textiles and beautiful designs were made.
These were called Kasika Suchi Vattha (Jataka Vol. VI.
p. 144, 145, 164).

__ Thus far about cotton cloth. To come to silk textiles
which were the pride of the city, these wereusually red, or
blue, and were soft, fine, and smooth on both sides — þe-
sides being well-polished. Some of them were also ador-
ned with gold thread and sometimes precious stones
were embedded in the fine silk and gold meshes. It was
pethaps this variety which fetched the fabulous price of
a hundred thousand Karshapans. [Mahapadam Sutta 2.1,
Mahaparinibbana Sutta 2.3, and Sangiti Pariyaya Sutta
3.10]. Kanchanpatta (gold-embroidered cloth) was also
used for Kings’ headdress—andalso for decorated sheets
for covering the royal elephants. Floral and animal
designs were also exhibited on them. Blankets made of
wool mixed with Kshauma were also made at Varanasi
and fetched as much as 500 Katshapans a piece (Maha-
bagga 8.1. 4 and 8-2). Mathura was another centre for silk
cloth but its products were considered inferior to those of
Varanasi and fetched less ptice as has been stated by
Patanjali in his Mahabhasya. (2nd centuty B. C.). —

_ Even in the Kushana period Varanasi continued to
be famous for its textiles. They wete called ‘Kashika
Vastta’, Kashi, or Kashikanshu (Divyavadana pp. 391,
328, 318). The Bhaishjya Guru Sutra in the Gilgit text
also tells us that Varanasi textiles were very fine. ‘There
was a shop exclusively selling Varanasi cloth at Bharoch.
In the Gupta period the craft continued its progress and
continued to develop and as mentioned elsewhere formu-
lated exclusive and remarkably beautiful designs, which

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AGRICULTURE, CRAFTS, AND ALLIED ART 45

can still be seen on the outer casing of the Dhameka
Stupa—engraved in Stone. It had now become an art
and continued to be so fot several centuries, and even
in later times it continued to flourish and brought not
only name and fame to the city but also plenty of money—
as it continues to do upto the present day in its silk and
brocade textiles. >
Dying of fabrics was also a sister craft and in the Jataka
times the favourite colours used by dyers being various
shades of yellow, red, and blue; and cloth was dyed in
gold and silver colours too. (Mujjhim Nikaya). This
craft was usually in the hands of the Rajakas or Rajakaras
(washermen). Tailoring of excellent garments was also
. aside-profession carried on by Tunnakaras [Mahabagga;
also Kassap-Sechanada Sutta of Digh Nikaya], and
their workmanship was of a high order [Vinaju-pitak].
Beautiful ornaments were made of gold by Suvarna-
karas (Sonnakaras), and Manikaras, the latter also polish-
ing and making precious stonebeads for necklaces. These
craftsmen were very rich persons. “Suvarnakaro aham
bahudhano” (Therigatha). Various ornaments were made
in beautiful designs e.g. Hathattharan (bangles),
Muddika (rings), Kundal (Eat-rings of several varieties),
Graiveyaka (necklaces ) etc. Precious stones were also

embedded in gold ornaments besides having ‘ekavalies’

made of pearls and beads. This craft continued to

flourish all through the succeeding ages and Varanasi

is even today famous for its beautiful ornaments and
precious stone jewellery.

Clever coppersmiths manufactured vessels of different

kinds in copper, bell-metal, and brass. ‘This craft too

continues in its full glory in Varanasi even today, in spite

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46 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

of a keen competition with Mirzapur. The former still |
holds the banner in matter of finish and beauty of design,
the latter lagging far behind in these respects but exceed-
ing in matter of quantity.

The blacksmiths of Varanasi in the Jataka times were
very clever too, and Varanasi was at that time famous
for its needles. They were light, smooth, well polished,
and sharp-pointed, with regular round eyes and easily
penetrated the cloth. Fine metal wires (brass and iron)
were also a speciality for use in the various musical string
instruments. [Suchi-Jataka’ and Jataka Vol. II. p.249].
The Chapakaras or Usukaras made straight and pointed
arrows.

There wete also craftsmen who produced excellent
ivoty atticles. They were called Dantakaras, and ivory
atticles made in Varanasi were exported to foreign coun-
tries. We ate also told of a whole locality where these
danta-karas lived called the Dantakar Vithi (Jataka Vol.
II p. 1977). An ivory seal with a rhinoceros engraving
has been recently unearthed in an excavation neat
Rome. There .wete only two centres of ivory work-
manship in India those days—Varanasi, and the other
in one of the western Janapadas. Rhinoceros was found
chiefly in the Himalayan forests and so this seal is likely
to have been made at Varanasi.

e .
è = eS Pe, =a (eels saormiinnoanon=ns seoaettu 8 snoi

Then there was a whole village in Varanasi inhabited 3
by a thousand families of carpenters, the Vaddhakigam )
with two jeshthakas controlling five hundred families 4
each, and these craftsmen produced a steady tale of good ~
workmanship.

Artistic earthen vessels were produced on the pottet’s,
wheel as today and fine paintings were made thereon.

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AGRICULTURE, CRAFTS, AND ALLIED ART 47

So were a large variety of earthen pottery and perhaps toys
too, which developed over the ages and gave us the beauti-
ful terra-cotta figurines of the Shunga and Gupta periods,
and as mentioned elsewhere Varanasi still holds the pride
of place in this craft. |

_ There was another important craft in Varanasi, which
brought it fame. It was preparation of toilet articles from
sandalwood. Kasi-Chandan and Kasi-Vilepana are the
terms used and although we do not know the precise
form of these preparations, we can safely say that they

were intended for the decoration of the body and for `

toilet purposes. We know that fine sandal powder and
scents made from sandalwood were being ardently sought
after by the ladies of China and one need not be susrprised
if they went there from Varanasi. ‘There is mention of
a Varanasi merchant going to Pratyanta (South India)
to purchase five hundred cartloads of sandal wood (Para-
pashtha Jataka Vol. IT p. 523), and that could give us an
idea of the scale on which this craft was carried on.

As mentioned earlier there were many other crafts
producing articles needed in daily life, which it is not
necessary to enumerate. It is, however, important to
emphasise that most of the crafts continued in later centu-
ries also at Varanasi and continue even to day, their
quality rising and falling from age to age and from century
to century. Beautiful silk and brocade textiles are still
made at Varanasi— but the fine cotton fabrics have dis-
appeared. Dying and washing of these delicate textiles
is still a speciality here. Jewellery and ornaments, specially
those set with gems, continue to enjoy a place of honour

and tothat craft has been added the art ofenamelling, and

the red-enamel on gold ornaments, produing a wonderful —

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+ te Ie
an fede

48 `. VARANASI DOWN THE AGES--

effect is Varanasi’s speciality today and has been for the |
last three centuries. Brass and copper utensils of excellent |
quality are still manufactured and to these have been added 4 |
those made of silver, which too ate quite artistic and have r
left behind Lucknow in this sphere, though, Nasik still
remains heads and shoulders above Varanasi in this matter, |
Varanasi no longer enjoys fame in iron-mongering—and
the famous needles of Varanasi have ceased to be manu-
factured, but wires forthe musical string instruments are |
still made. Ivory articles, however, continue to be made
but they are now inferior to those of South India, nor
are there many craftsmen in the line at Varanasi. Kasika- |

. chandan has also ceased to be an article of export from |
Varanasi, but the art. of clay-modelling still exists and
articles and toys par excellence are stil] made—and even
the clay pots and small cups of Varanasi remain altogether
unbeaten in Northern India. They ate so thin and so
light and yet so strong, producing a metallic sound when
smashed.

Allied Art R |

Having given a detailed account of the development — :
of crafts in Varanasi and their intrinsic qualities. We
have now to consider several of them from the att point |
of view.

A craft remains a craft only so long as it serves a uti-
litarian purpose, but the moment its handiwork creates
some sort of an emotional excitement, it transcends into
art, and attains immortality. Some such process has
been going on in the s phere of some crafts in Varanasi.

The first and foremost in this sphere may be considered

to be the brocade industry.. We have seen that cotton _

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AGRICULTURE, CRAFTS, AND ALLIED ART 49

and silk fabrics were a speciality of this city in the
sixth and seventh centuries before Christ. We have also
seen that gold and silver work and occasionally precious-
stone work thereon was also prevalent at the time and some
of these beautiful pieces of cloth fetched as much as a
hundred thousand Karshapans. We have no means
now to study the various designs on these fabrics and
have to be content with the knowldge that they exhibi-
ted floral and animal designs, which were occasionally
decorated with studded gems.
As time went on and this art continued to develop,
even better things must have been produced and the
zenith of workmanship was reached in the Gupta period
(Std to 7th century A. D.). By that time the craft had
already developed into an art and the designs were not
only beautiful but also transcendent. According to the
great art connoisseur Dr. Vasudeva Sharana Agrawal
“The textile designs were transferred on to stone with
great fidelity, as in the covering at the Dhameka Stupa
(at Sarnath). The variety and richness of the decorative
motifs consisted of intricate scroll work, floral designs,
rising cteepers with intetlacing filaments, figures of human
beings, Yakshas, birds and animals, and many kinds of
geometrical patterns. These motifs demonstrate the un-
usual mastery in covering wide areas with decorative
patterns of exceeding charm, conceived in right harmony
and proportion.”
We do not know how long this artistic excellence
continued, for there are no specimens of this work
available, but one is persuaded to think that like all other
atts so exquisite during the Gupta period, this art too
declined during the later centuries. Brocades of great Oe

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50 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

beauty were still made in Varanasi and the nobles and
Princes all over India praised them and used them but the
old spirit was perhaps less prominent.

There was, however, a revival during the Moghal
period and Tavernier has praised itin words of admiration.
The motifs now changed. They were now borrowed
from the Kashmiri Shawls and the corners specially imi-
tated the Shawl embroidery. Beautiful floral designs
once again came into fashion and birds - specially peacocks,
were often employed as a motif. Hunting scenes and
earden-scenes were also depicted. This progress conti-
. nued for several centuries and one could see these designs
being made till about a hundred years ago. One critic
Forbes Watson wrote in 1866 “of the variety and beauty
of the patterns produced in India by the combination
in the loom of silk, gold and silver, only a faint idea can
be obtained from the specimens given in this book.”
(The Textile Manufactures and Costumes of the People
of India).

Early in the present century an attempt was made to
create the effect of a painting by employing silk threads
of varied colours, which gave the impression of light
and shade and thus viewed from a few yatds the fabric
appeated.to be a print rather than a brocade. In this too
gold and silver threads were employed as ornamenta-
tion. Yet later, fashions demanded only silk workman-
ship and it came to the fore.

Latterly, since the disappearance of gold from the
scene altogether and the price of silver touching new
heights, plastic thread producing gold effect has come
-into vogue, which has altogether deprived the fabrics of
artistic delicacy and made it entirely bizarre. Art seems to

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AGRICULTURE, CRAFTS, AND ALLIED ART 5t

have now found its grave and pure and simple craft holds
the market. Occasionally, however, some old craftsmen
still produce artistic material and design—and the old art
still lingers in these rarer specimens, but there is no gold
ot silver in the threads, they are made of gilt copper wire
and so tarnish and turn black after some time.

Sculpture

No stone icons dating before the Mauryan era have
come to light so far. We have, therefore, to begin our
description of this craft from that period. Several ex-
cellent specimens of that period have been discovered but
one is not sure if they were manufactured at Varanasi
or have reached here as travellers. In the Shunga period,
however, stone was being definitely used for artistic ex-
pression in Varanasi itself and several Shunga railing-
pillars have been discovered at Sarnath. Even during
the Mautyan period work on stone had already risen from
the stage of craft to that of art and the Shunga sculptures
catried forward that tradition. About twentyfour miles
from Varanasi there is an archaeological site at Agiabir
and several Shunga headswere found there. In Varanasi
itself a beautiful image of Balarama was discovered near
Rajghat and is now in the Bharat Kala Bhavan Museum.
During the Kushana period a colossal Bodhisatva image
made of spotted red sandstone of Mathura was dedicated
at Sarnath but it seems to have been manufactured
at Mathura because its donor Bhikshu Bala himself

was a resident of that city and he donated a similar statue

to Jetavanarama at Sahet Mahet. No sculptures of the
Bharshiva period seem to be now available, but till the
early years of the nineteenth century a stone horse was in

tw riwu vied.

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52: - VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

existence at the Rajendra Prasad Ghat, which is still called
Ghora-ghat because of that sculpture, but no one seems to
know what became of it. ‘That horse marked the site of

the ten Ashwamedhas petformed by the Bharshiva Kings.

referred to in the famous Bharshiva stone-inscription.

During the Gupta period, however, there was a general
upsurge of artistic excellence and this art too seems to have
blossomed forth with great vigour, and superb specimens
of sculpture were made at Varanasi. Here it may be em-
phasised that the excellence of these specimens clearly
proves that they do not represent the efforts of novices.
They are masterpieces and as such quite several centuries
of hard work must have preceded their execution. We
may, therefore, conclude that even though few specimens
of the earlier centuries of the Christian Era are available
at Varanasi, the art was not only in existence but was
slowly and surely developing.

In the Gupta period itself the artists were already
master craftsmen producing masterpieces. Quite several of
these are on exhibition at the Bharat Kala Bhavan and at
the archaeological museum at Sarnath. These give positive
evidence of the development of a clearcut school of
sculpture, which has been called the Varanasi School. In
the words of Dr. V. S. Agrawal “We find here a new
inspiration for plastic form, decorative design, architect-
ute, and above all, for exquisite figurative representa-
tions of both Buddhist and Brahmanical affiliations”.

Sevetal hundred exquisite figures in this style and of
this period have been discovered at Varanasiin several
patts of the city and could be seen at the Bharat Kala

Bhavan, but we would mention here only a few of the 3

best.

CC-0. Mumukshu Bhawan Varanasi Collection. Digitized by eGangotri

ones eee es

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AGRICULTURE, CRAFTS, AND ALLIED ART 53.

First of all there is the beautiful figure of Skanda
discovered near the Mahatha Ghat, which was perhaps
worshipped in the Skandesvara Temple of Pishangila
Tirtha, from where it was removed when the iconoclastic
avalanche descended on Varanasi in 1194 A. D. It can
now be seen at the Bharat Kala Bhavan.

Then there is the superb figure of Govardhandhari
Krishna, retrieved from inside the Bakaria Kund lake,
where it had been thrown after mutilation perhaps in the
Same year. It must have been installed there in one of
the important temples of that locality, many of which
still survive as mosques or Mausolea. ‘This too is now
in the main gallery of the Bharat Kala Bhavan.

Thus far the images of Brahamanical leanings. In
regard to the Buddhist masterpieces of the period there
are quité a number of them at the archaeological museum
at Sarnath but the best among them, which could be the
pride of any school of art, is the image of Buddha seated
in Padmasana and adorned with a lotus halo. ‘To quote
Dr. V.S. Agrawal “The smiling introvert expression
proper to a Yogin in his ecstatic experience of Samadhi
or mental illumination is of abiding charm. It is an
eloquent testimony to the genius of the master sculptors
of Varanasi, who were responsible for the beauty of foim
and richness of design and motif witnessed in the works
attributed to this School.”

The decorations of the Dhammekhe Stupa have been

placed in this period and as has been said earlier provide

an excellent example of the attainments of the Varanasi
School of Sculpture in the sphere of designs and figure
work. . Unfortunately most of these carved stones have

‘Bie

been lost but those that still remain offer a “feast forthe —
SAE

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EN ÈY SNA

54. VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

eye in the matter of decorative and symbolical designs
of utmost richness. The coalescing meanders of the
horizontal creepers with their crests and troughs enclosing
different figures are shown encircling the Stupa in bold
sweeping movement and appearas the richly embroidered
girdle round the middle portion of the divine Stupa,
which in truth symbolises the body of the Maha-Buddha,
whose images in the Gupta period were sometimes as high.
as 100 or 150 feet” (V. S. Agrawal).

The symbolism of these decorations has exercised the
mind of many an art critic and they have invariably gasped
in wonder at this representation of eternal truths and
philosophical principles in stone.

In centuries after Harsha this artistic excellence started
fading but specimens of stone-work even upto the ninth
century continued to be impressive e. g. image of Varaha
popularly known as Tamra Varaha in the locality known
as Nilkantha neat Brahmanal and the image of Ganesha in
the Bharat Kala Bhawan, obtained from Dehli Vinayak
atea. Some specimens of the tenth century also exhibit
beauty,but thereafter there was a definite decline, although
sporadic excellencies did appear now and then. As a result
of the conquest of Varanasi by Kutubuddin Aibak artistic
life of this great city suffered a serious setback and images
constructed during the thirteenth and foureenth centuties
show a further decline (vide the image of Brahma at’ the
Brahmaghat). The form is there but the soul is lost. There-
after sculptureas an art almost perished even though stone
craft continued and continues evennow. This was true
not only of Varanasi but of art as such all over northern
India: It seems as if the creative originality and spiritual
outlook petished with the country’s independence.

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AGRICULTURE, CRAFTS, AND ALLIED ART 55

In regard to the temple architecture old material is
almost non-existent. The earliest temples in northern
India date from the Gupta period. TIwoof themhavebeen
preserved -one at Bhitargaon in Kanpur District and
the other at Bhitinear Allahabad. Both these are made
of bricks, there being no stonework of any kind in them.
The bricks, however were very ornamental and some-
times had human figures on them but they have become
mutilated and besides donot concern this account. The
earliest temple — somehow preserved at Varanasi—is the
Kardamesvara temple at Kandwa, near the Benares Hindu
University. It was built in the tenth century and isa noble
fane. Unlike temples of Southern India, the temples of the
north are not very elaborate structures. There is the
sanctum sanctorun under the main spire with four doors
on the four sides. ‘The lingam is in the centre in the case
of Siva temples and the icon is placed along one of the
walls in. the case of other deities. Round the temple
there is usually a covered Pradakshinapatha in the case of
bigger temples and also a hall in front called the Sabha
Mandapa. ‘This is the general pattern. Itis on record,
however, that an elaborate temple the Karna Meru was
also built at Varanasi in the eleventh century. Two large
temples of Padmesvara and Manikarnikesvara were
built in 1302 but we donot know any thing about their
construction details. All the three were, however demo-
lished by the Muslim rulets.

In 1194 A. D. all temples of Varanasi were pulled down
and this process continued till 1669, during which period
there were five waves of wholesale destruction. The
first temple a portion of which has been preserved, is the

CC-0. Mumukshu Bhawan Varanasi Collection. Digitized by eGangotri see

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Visvesvara temple at Gyan Vapi (1585 A. D.)—and the E

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56 VARANASI DOWN THE. AGES

richness of its workmanship jis self-evident. All other
temples-that exist were built after 1735, and they exhibit
but the decayed art of stone-cutting. Perhaps the best
specimen of Varanasi workmanship during this period
can be seen in a small temple built a little more than a
hurdred years ago—the Putliwala Shivala in the Dhun-
dhiraja Gali. It shows very good craftsmanship but it is
difficult to accept it as a piece of art.
Painting 3
The earliest examples of painting in India have been
obtained from Mohenjodato, where an urn has been
discovered with beautiful paintings thereon. Other
pieces of tetra-cotta have also been found there in plenty
with angels, birds painted on brown terra-cotta surface in
black. | | |
We have also seen that in the Buddhist period beauti-
ful pictures of men and women wete painted on house
walls and also on wooden planks in Varanasi itself by
Rajakas or Rajkats but there is no mention of painting
on papet. We also know that there are some paintings
inthe Jogimara Caves, which have been attributed to the
third century B.C. During the Shunga period literary
evidence tells us that portraits of the bride and the bride-
groom were occasionally used to celebrate marriages
by proxy. Vasavadatta having eloped with Udayana, King
of Kaushambi, her father completed the religious rites of
the marriage cetemoney with the help of their portraits.
Patanjali too mentions paintings of Krishna Lila in his
Mahabhashya—written in that period. It is also accepted
that the earliest Ajanta Cave paintings date from the Shunga
petiod and that work there continued right up to the end of

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AGRICULTURE, CRAFTS, AND ALLIED ART 57

the 6th century A.D. It would not be very presumptuous,
therefore, to suggest that painting asa craft in the hands
of the Rajakas or Rajakaras of Varanasi was also progress-
ing in Varanasi and in the Kasi Janapada during those
distant centuries and may have attained the status of an
att. This view is strengthened by the presence of painted
Earthenware—specially those beautiful terra-cotta figurines
of the Gupta period discovered at-Rajghat in 1940. Some
of these have still preserved the colour and fine line paint-
ing on them. “The Sari of a female figure is painted in
‘wavy bands of red and white, and the breast-band is indi-
‘cated in black. On the figure of a small boy the short
knickers ate marked by vertical bands in alternating
colours. Both these styles are shown in the Ajanta
paintings also. On some female heads the painter has
indicated in: fine black lines the hair on the head, and
ornaments such as armlets, torques, and necklaces
falling on the breasts. In others the eyebrows and the
lines of the eyelids are marked” [V. S. A. in Illustrated
Weekly]. 7

It seems ccrtain, therefore, that the art of painting had
‘developed and grown at Varanasi side by side with other
atts during the intervening centuries since the Buddhist
times and was flourishing as such during the Gupta period.
-In fact the similarity of design on the Sari of the female
figurine and the knickers of the small boy, with similar
‘designs in Ajanta might suggest 2 common source. It
-was not very easy for the Varanasi artists to have seen the
Ajanta paintings and the employment of the same style
and colour scheme at both the places might turn out to

be an evidence of painters from Varanasi having had ae
their hand at Ajanta. ie

4. as

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58 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

There is literary evidence on the point of paintings
on terra-cotta during this period in Kalidas’ Shakuntala.
Chittrita mrittika mayuram (painted clay peacock) and the
adjective vatna-chittrita, ensure the painting of clay
figures in natural colours. The art of painting in this
sphere had thus already attained considerable heights.

Plenty of evidence is available that painting as an art
continued to flourish all over India from the Shunga
period right up to the twelfth century A. D. Paintings
in the Ellora caves cover the eighth century and the Chittra
Sutra of the Vishnu Dharmottara Purana (Eighth century
. A.D.) gives full details about the theory and practice of
painting. Bhavabhuti in his Uttar Ram Charita bases the
story on the presentation of paintings on the wall depict-
ing scenes from Rama’s life. There ate similar stray
evidences showing that the art of painting was in the

ascendant during the early mediaeval period. In 1129

Somesvara Bhupati Chalukya wrote a book “‘Manasollas’’,
in which there is a long chapter on the art of painting,
giving full details about the technique and material
employed.

It seems, however, that the era of classical wall paintings
came to an end with the early mediaeval period and there-
after the artists used palm-leaves and wooden covers of
_ religious books for the display of their art. Thelong tradi-
tion of painting and its recognised excellence in the Gupta.
period must have ensured its continued development in
subsequent centuries, and when paper became common
these masters must have exercised their art thereon.
This is, however, only a presumption as no paintings.
of this period by the Varanasi artists have been wise
discovered.

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AGRICULTURE, CRAFTS, AND ALLIED ART 59

The earliest known example of painting on paper
‘belonging to Kashi Janapada area is an illustrated manu-
script of the Jaina Kalp-Sutra, now in a Jain a library at
Ahmedabad. ‘This was painted in 1465 A. D. at Jaunpur
during the reign of Hussain Shah Sharqi and shows some
originality of style over the Apabhramsa School, suggest-
ing “the existence of an independent court style.” (Rai
K. Das). Now, specialised styles are not created in
aday. ‘They are result of prolonged activity. It is thus
clear that the Apabhramsa School of painting was current
in what had once been Kashi Janapada, during the centuries
previous to the fifteenth century A. D., and Varanasi
could not have remained innocent of the art being prac-
tised at Jaunpur. We have, however, no firm evidence.
Almost a century later was painted another manusctipt
that of Mrigavati, now in Bharat Kala Bhawan, which
shows further developmental characteristics. “T his sup-
posed court style (of the Sharqi court at Jaunpur) gave
tise to certain far-reaching results as manifested in the
Mrigavati illustrations. Thus the importance of the con-
-tribution of this part of the country to the revival of the
att of painting, which fully developed in Rajasthan during
the seventeenth-eighteenth centuries can be assessed as a
tesult of this discovery” (Rai Krishan Das). fe:
We would, thus see that Varanasi and its neighbouring
town of Jaunpur had an important place in the develop-

ment of painting, although it later on blossomed forth in

profusion far away in Rajasthan and Nalanda. 2
enth century onwards,

From the beginning of the eighteenth ds,
however, painting seems to have found its soul in Varanasi

proper too, for there is in the Bharat Kala Bhawan collect-

ions a painting showing Mir

Rustam Ali the then governor

60 VARANASI DOWN. THE 'AGES\ -

of Varanasi (1731-1737 A.D.) celebrating the Holi Festival.
(See illustration) This pieceshows the existence ofa Provin-
cial Moghal Style of painting existing in the second quarter
of the eighteenth century at Varanasi. Soon afterwards one
of the Moghal princes fell into disgraceat Delhiand came
to live in Varanasi between 1784 and 1789 A. D. under
the protection of the East India Company, and with him
came his court painters headed by Lalji Mal Musavvir. This
latter was a scion of the famous house of Niddhamal so
assiduously sought after by the Peshwa. He was a master
of the then existing Moghal School, and laid the founda-
tions of that School in Varanasi by initiating Sardar
Sikkhi in its tenets. Sikkhi was followed by his son
Ustad Mulchand and the latter was succeeded by his talent-
ed son Ustad Ram Prasad, who excelled his ancestors and
was indeed a great master not only of the Moghal School
but also of the Company School. Fortunately his son
Sharada Prasad has kept up the family tradition and is pet-
haps the sole representative of the Moghal School of
‘painting in India today. MARE ` mE
Soon after 1764 A. D. Varanasi came under the influ-
ence of the East India Company by the grant of Diwani
to it and in consequence ‘the Company School of painting
soon claimed it as its centre. This School was the result
of European painters training Indian painters in the art
of water-colour painting, in order to procure paintings
of scenes from Indian life. Soon this School supplemented.
the local styles and even the later Moghal style prevalent
in these parts because of the royal patronage of the
East India Company. ore
During the nineteenth century this new style was the

ctaze, and most of the Varanasi gentry patronised it, At `

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AGRICULTURE,’ CRAFTS, AND ALLIED ART 61

Ram Nagat the Banaras Court was at that time presided
ovet by Maharaja Ishwari Prasad Narain Singh—the great
connoisseur and patron of all that was good and great.
His court painters Dallu Lal and his disciples Lal Chandra
and Gopal: Chandra have given us a large number of
paintings showing scenes fromthe court life of the Banaras
Darbar. There were also at the time some artists, who
specialised in the art of painting beautiful designs on the
walls, and the most famed among these was Julla Miyan.
It was a prevalent fashion those daysto get the inner walls
of rooms of houses and temples decorated by these wall
paintings, and some excellent specimens of these existed
till about fifty years ago..

Early in the ptesent century the Tagore School of
painting took its birth in Bengal, and soon it travelled to
Varanasi and had its influence on Ustad Ram Prasad too,
the then unquestioned King of Varanasi painters. His
Omar Khayyam paintings clearly show this influence. A
little later came Sri Kedar Sharma on the scene, who
modified the Tagore tradition by his own individuality
and imparted this new style to alatge numberof admiring
pupils.

It would be invidious to name the present-day
masters in this sphere at Varanasi and so one has to be
content with saying that not only are there several stars
of considerable brilliance but that there is a gallaxy of
tising brilliants too. 7

Clay Work

Ancient clay work from ite mee ta S period upto
the Gupta period has been excavated at Varanasi and is
availablefor inspection not only at the Bharat Kala Bhawan

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62 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

but also in the museums at Allahabad and Lucknow.
An old site near Varanasi—Agiyabir—has yielded beauti-
ful terra-cotta heads of the ‘Shunga and Kushan periods..
Dighwat, Prahladpur, Hathibarni, Hingutar and several
other old sites have also made their contribution in this
sphere—and on this basis it can be safely asserted that
Varanasi Kumbhakaras were producing masterpieces in
those ages also in continuation ofthe artistic articles men-
tioned in Jatakas. |

By the Gupta period, however, this art had reached
the acme ofits achievement and clay figurines of this period
discovered at Rajghat are sheer ‘jewels’ in this line. Not
only this, their number exceeds two thousand and the area
from which they have been recovered is quite small.
Thus the fecundity of the workmen of this period is also
a noteworthy feature.

The colour scheme on some of these superb figurines of -

the Gupta period has been already discussed earlier but the
figurines themselves are yet to be described. This is
important for two reasons. Firstly because they represent
the highest standard of achievement in this art—not only
in Varanasi but anywhere in India, or outside, and secondly
because they give us some idea of the social life of those
- days. ‘They display several varieties of dresses and the
hair-styles of the Gupta period. This latter is their specia-
lity. “The faces, combining elegance of features with got-
geous arrangement of hair on the head, constitute a gallery
for the study of the beautiful types admired in that age”.
(V.S.A.). It would not be wrong to say that each oneof

these figurines isa poem in itself—a lyricof extreme beauty. _

In the words of a learned art critic “we find in them
specimens of Alaka Coiffure shown in the form of frizzled

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AGRICULTURE, CRAFTS, AND ALLIED ART 63

locks arranged on the two sides of the Central Kesa Vithi.
Women in the Gupta period had a fondness for this hair
style as Kalidasa very often describes Alaka to be the mark
of a beautiful face.” “Scholars have already observed the
gorgeous wig like arrangement of hair on the clay figurines
of the Gupta period. There are some excellent specimens
showing a hair style in the form ofa peacock feather turn-
ing at the ends and arranged on thetwo sides ofthe central ,
` parting. A straight sweep starting from the simanta.
ends in volutes. This is described by the epithet barba-
bhara Kesa in Meghaduta. The style imparts a princely
dignity to the face. ‘The aristocratic appearance is height-
ened by full round eyes, a prominent nose, full lips and
prominent cheeks. Of special interest are those female
heads, in which the hair-style resembles a honey-comb.

In some figurines the hair is tied in a single or triple

top-knot, which is interwoven with a flower garland and
fastened with pearl festoons. About six figurines show
a style of coiffure in which the right side consists of matted
locks and the left half of spiral curls. These may be re-
garded as heads of the Parvati-Paramesvara type combin-
ing the male and the female forms of the deity.” (V. S. A.).
All these figurines are representations of common:
men and women, of princesses and princes. There are
drummers and instrument players, and so many representa-
tions of other vocations. For example an extremely
beautiful woman is enraptured in playing ona small drum.
A boy is partaking of some eatable held in his right hand.
There is also a beautiful plaque representing a woman
swinging on a swing suspended from the branches of an
Ashoka tree. “The rich ornamentation of the female
figurine consists of a very attractive chhanua vira in front,

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z Me —
WAE ý
> . = ma FN an PON S ~~

64 i VARANASI. DOWN THE AGES

an ekavali of pearls round the neck, a /atanka kundala
(round ear-ring) in the left ear and bangles on the atms
and legs. This piece of art reflects the culture of the age
with its emphasis on love of nature and sylvan sports”
(see illustration). There is also a plaque showing dancing
dampati figures and a fragmentary terra-cotta represents
a woman holding “a mango branch in the right hand
and tempting a Krida-Shuka (a pet parrot ) to nibble at
the fruit.” “A circular plaque shows a Kinnara-Mithuna
(a pair of centaurs). Another shows a hunter feeding
gtass to a deer. He has a short dagger attached to his
girdle. He wears a heavy coat gathered on the sleeves
and unbuttoned on the chest.” (V. S. A.).

It is not possible to do justice to these beautiful speci-
mens of this Varanasi plastic art by word descriptions and
the truth of the old dictum that things seen are mightier
than things heard strikes one with greater force than ever
in this regard.

Like all other aspects of art this art too declined after
the seventh and eighth centuries and the idyllic beauty of
figures was lost, though clay figures of all varieties and
representing the life and its interests inthe various subse-
quent periods continued to be made and exhibited. One
fact, however, has to be emphasised that in spite of this
decline Vatanasi continued to enjoy supremacy in this art
even in those dark days, and even today Varanasi produces
clay toys, which are matched only by those produced at

Krishnanagar in Bengal. Even Lucknow with its tradi-
tion of realism and in spite of its School of Art has not
Succeeded so fat in coming up to the standards of this
popular craft of Varanasi. ‘This latter city exports its
Clay-toys all ovet Northern India, specially on the

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|
:
|
|

AGRICULTURE, CRAFTS, AND ALLIED ART 65

occasion of the Dipawali festival even today. During
the nineteenth century the toy-makers of Varanasi made
an effort to image the Maharaja of Benares—Maharaja
Iswari Prasad Narain Singh—and succeeded wonderfully
in producing his majestic likeness. Later they made
images of Maharaja Sir Prabhu Narain Singh also. In
the present century there was an effort to make the images
of five literary giants of Varanasi—Kabir, Tulsidas,
Bharatendu Harishchandra, Prem Chand, and Prasadaji.
Excellent copies of the Lion Capital—the National
emblem—ate being produced too. |

Varanasi had been celebrating a very large number
of festivals throughout the year and for each festival there

used to be a particular clay figute—a toy or the image of -

a deity. Thus one could get that toy or that image only
on that occasion and not at any other time. This specialis-
ation still continues but to an abated extent.

Brass-Ware

We have seen’ earlier that Varanasi workmen pro-
duced very good articles made of brass and bell-metal in
the Buddhist period and have occasionally come across
brass and copper articles belonging to the period third
century B. C. to sixth century A.D. It is difficult to
say when this craft attained the status of an art. Some
beautiful images of deities both male and female have
been discovered in excavations and they certainly empha-
sise the artistic aspect of this craft, but these specimens
are few and far between. Itis difficult, therefore to build
an edifice of this craft as an art, and so it has to be left
an open question to be decided by further research. One

thing is, however, certain that in South India this craft did —

5 :

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66 Zn. . VARANASI DOWN THE AGES |

attain the status of an Art quite early and the chances are
that as aresult of further research we may place Varanasi
metal work also in that category.

In regard to recent times Varanasi specialised in this
sphere of brasswate quite several centuries ago and attained
considerable excellence. It also developed ,its own parti-
cular shapes and styles. As mentioned earlier there
seems to have been some sort of a competition between
Varanasi and the neighbouring town of Mirzapur in this
industry and it appears that while the latter exceeded in
the commercial sphere, Varanasi excelled on the artistic
side. That position obtains even now. ‘There isa better
organised brassware industry at Mirzapur but the handi-
work there is crude and inartistic. Varanasi on the other
hand still produces excellent specimens of brasswaré and
not on an insignificant scale. One has only to see the
Thatheri Bazar (Brassware market) on the Dhanteras day
to be convinced of this reality.

Writers on Indian arts and industries have sometimes
called this craft in its modern setting an art but the
present writer would prefer to call it an industry rather
than an art, even though some excellent and artistic arti-
cles have been and are being produced‘by Varanasi work-
men even today. |

Enamelling of brassware has also been a speciality of
Varanasi for the last two centuries and some excellent
Specimens of it can be seen in the drawing tooms of
European nobility in Europe and even in the Buckingham
Palace—but only inferior specimens ate available at
Vatanasi itself, and the articles now being produced do
not deserve the title of being artistic.

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' AGRICULTURE, CRAFTS, AND ALLIED ART 67

Wooden Toys

What has been said about brasswate above is even
truer of wooden toys. RRA

Quite decent toys of wood are made at Varanasi and
some of them show originality too. Formerly they were in
great demand because they were tougher and could stand
wear and tear at the hands of children to a greater extent
than earthen toys, but the medium of their construction
being harder it was not always possible to provide finer
finish and look to the images so made. The faces could

hardly ever attain the excellence of clay toys and no ‘ex-

pression’ could be created in them. They remained, there-
fore, toys for children only. Foreigners praised the round.
boxes and other articles of that type for theit original fine
~ lacquer work but since the end of the last centuty flowers
and other designs are being painted on them, which: have,
if anything, reduced their original indigenous beauty.
Greaves writing about this says “Practically all the toys
are turned. At present, however, a rage is setting in for
painting flowers etc. on these toys, to theno small detri-
ment of their artistic worth.” (Kashi the City Illustrious
or Benares by Edwin Greaves p. 26.).

Obviously he is speaking of the “turned”? varieties,
but the other vatiety representing deities, men, women,
animals, and birds do not deserve this opinion. There is
an effort at fine workmanship and the miniature animal
figurines are quite beautiful and well made. Latterly
musical Band-sets and other modernisms have been in-

ith good effect. i

ae oan i haere but a craft— nothing less and
nothing more. 5 ;

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7

CHAPTER 4
MUSIC AND DANCING

Music has been subdivided into vocal and instrument-
al and we find that both of these in their varied manifest-
ations were well known to the Rigvedic Aryans.

In regard to the former there is ample evidence in the
Rigveda itself to prove that not only rhythm and cadence
but also the seven notes of music were known and that
this knowledge applied to both forms of music—vocal
and instrumental. The number of melodies known to the
Aryans in the Vedic times was quite large. Indeed R.
Simon has computed it at 8000, and each melody had its
own name. | |

The Udatta, Anudatta, and the Svarita,. the three ori-
ginal Vedic Svaras, had already yielded the now well-
known seven notes of music. A Rigvedic poem clearly
mentions this knowledge, although it was quite late
in the day that Panini”, Narada,” and Yajnavalkya?
codified. this development. The Sama Veda, with its
Upaveda—the Gandharva Veda—was essentially a music-

(1) “ale agda qais area acrarghesra:”
: [ Rigveda X. 32.4 ]
Translated by Griffith thus :
“Where the herd’s mother counts as first and best of all,
and round her are the seven-toned people of the choir”
[ Griffith’s Rigveda Vol. IV p. 167 ]
(2)a Sata FATTER Atal ATTA |
ELEGEK EIRG] GEqHeAATAAT: I
«Udatta means and includes Ni and Ga; anudatta Ri and
Dha; and Svarita Sha, Na, and Pa.”

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MUSIC AND- DANCING 69

al lexicon.’ C. V. Vaidya observes that the modern
Ragas or arrangements of different notes could.be easily
equated with “the different Samans, named after a typical
song (the cha/a of Indian music)” and their names are a

legion “ʻe. g. Varuna, Sambhara, Brahma, Rathantara, —

Vinardi, Yajna-Yajniya, Yodhejaya etc.”. Of these Rathan-
tara was known to Rigveda. .So was Brihat.

In regard to instrumental music there were several
musical instruments in use during the Rigvedic times.
In fact all the three recognised groups of instruments
viz. those of percussion, wind, and string were there.
There is not only a clear mention of Dundubhi® (drum),
the Karkari# (lute), the Vana® (harp or lyre) and the

Breage eae rs
(Db “sai, Aaa |
geg afanan: Veet aeaa TAAT: NN"

«The high toned [ udatta ] means and includes Ni and Ga;
the low toned ( anudatta ), Ri and Dha; while the rest Sha, Ma,
and Pa are derived from Svarita.” na

(Qc “iail À RM: AANSTAAN: FART: |
yaa fata: aa Sena: AT: UI”

<The self same seven Svaras beginning with Sa as employed
in the Gandharva Veda ( Science of Music ) are to be understood
as being implied in the three Svaras of the Vedas, beginning
with Udatta.”

[ Ancient Indian Education by R. K Mukerji pp. 63-64 ]

(3) iaai aa waaay Sgt [ Rigveda I. 28.5]

«Here give Thou. forth thy clearest sound loud as the drum ~

of conquerors. [ Griffith’s Rigveda Vol. I Page 48 ]
4) agaaa aaa waar
ee [ Rigveda II. 43.3]

«When flying off thou singest, thou art like a lute.”
[ Griffith’s Rigveda Vol. I. p. 404 ]

-< j

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AAE

Aega ees MADS

‘10 VARANASI DOWN’ THE AGES

Nadi® (flute),-but there is a full appreciation of their
various notes,”

Of these the Dundubhi had two varieties. One was
the mobile Dundubhi of which the body was made of baked
clay and the two ends were covered with stretched hide.
This was a precursor of the present Pakhavaj and Mridanga.
‘The other variety was immobile. A cylindrical pit in the
gtound was covered with a stretched hide of a bullock
with the tail intact. This has given us the big Nagaras—
SO common in the temples. It was beaten with the tail
of the hide mentioned above. — |

_ The lute- has given us so many instruments of our
time, in conjunction with the Vana. This latter had many
varieties and many shapes. Ithada variable number of
sttings—from five to a hundred—and its narne was deter-
mined by their numbér. Thus we had Panch-tantriki
Vana Vina, Ekadash-tantriki-Vina and so on. Its shape
too varied. The Gupta Emperor Samudra Gupta actually
had a gold coin struck in which he was shown playing on

(5) “amaai gais area aag RESA:
SE | [ Rigveda X. 32. 4 ]
‘Where the herd’s mother counts as first and best’ of all,
and round her are the seven-toned people of the choir.”
[ Griffith’s Rigveda Vol. IV. p. 167 ]
(6) “qara stad aretarmnfa: fga:
[ Rigveda X. 135. 7]
Here minstrels blow the flute for him : here he is glorified
with songs.”
$ [ Griffith’s Rigveda Vol. IV p. 376 ]
(7) Please see foot note (5) above.

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MUSIC -AND DANCING: - Tt

a multi-stringed-Vana Vina. Panini has mentioned a
Bahu-tantriki Vina (4.4.55).

The Vana-Vina with a hundred strings was enjoined to
be played on the occasion of the Maha Vrata Yajna—and
was thus a reality and not an exaggerated exhuberance of
the poet. In fact the modern Kashmiri instrument
‘Shantur’ is a direct descendant of that Vina.

The Nadi has .given us the Bansuri—and even in

Vedic times it was made of bamboo tubes - and the
Shahnai, which literally means the ‘king of bansuris’, and
which has been further elaborated in modern times.
Incidentally this latter instrument is a Varanasi speciality.

The conch was also a wind instrument played on all
festive and warlike occasions—and has given us the
trumpet. `- ;

From the above account it would be clear that music
held an important place in those early days. It was an
essential part of worship—specially on the occasion of the
various Yajnas. In fact the very classification of the Vedas
was based on this basis. All poetical Mantras were gather-
ed in the Rigveda; all musical mantras went to form the
Sama Veda and musical verses from the Rigveda were also
included in it. The prose mantras gave us the Yajurveda.
The Samans of the Samaveda were actually sung and the
Archika was compiled to provide guidance to the singer
in regard to the tune in which a particular song was to
be sung. “Here,” as R. K. Mukerji remarks, “it is not
usually the case, as in the west, that a verse is sung to a

particular tune. Tt is the reverse : this or that Saman

(melody) issung upon particular stanza”. (A.I. E.—p.62)
This was the sacred aspect of the question, but there

was also a profane facet. The Vedic Samhitas give us

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i VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

indications not only of religious life but also of a worldly
life, fully lived and enjoyed, and music must inevitably have
been a prevalent ‘mode’. ‘The art was considered respect-
able and-was widely practised. The Shatapatha Brahmana
actually mentions a Royal personage as a lute-player and
singer in a Horse-Sacrifice (XIII—4. 3. 5.). The Taitta-
tiya Samhita (VI.—1. 6. 5.), the Maitra Samhita ( II.—
7. 3), and the Shatapatha Brahmana (III.—2. 4. 3.-6) tell
us that women were taught singing and dancing.

This brings us to a consideration of the complementary
art of dancing. Siva is the patron god of this latter att
and his Tandava dance has earned enormous praise and
veneration. In fact it has been suggested that his Damaru
was the original instrument of percussion, which gave us
all the others in due course. Marking time is an impotrt-
ant activity in dancing and the instruments of percussion—
specially the Tabla—are even now an indispensable accom-
paniment to dancing. 7

In the Rigveda there is also the mention of an instru-
ment aghata, which is said to be some form of Manjira,
also an important instrument for marking time both
in music and in dancing.

The Ramayan and the Mahabharata catty forward the tale
of the development of these arts further and we come
actoss a much lager number of instruments as we reach
the times of the Jatakas. Panini alone gives the names of
Mardagika, Madduka, and Jharjhara, and the Sutra litera-
ture gives us an elaborate list, in which the various varieties
of the Vina predominate, and this predominance con-
tinues for a thousand years thereafter. In fact the string
insttuments Occupy an important place in all spheres of
music even today.

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—— ———S-S—“‘(<;*;*‘(CPS:;t;‘(S;:;””:C:;”

MUSIC AND DANCING 73

As time progressed the importance of music as a
source of enjoyment increased and in the first century A. D.
Charudatta, the author of the famous Mrichchhakatika,
actually praises the. Vina-music as the companion of the
heart—sick, the entertainer of the distracted, the consoler
of the Virahi(a person separated from his or her beloved),
and an appetiser for the lovers.

The effect of music on the human brain has been
established beyond any doubt now, and people versed
in the theory and practice of music have been Known to
forget acute physical pain, when classical music has been
played to them.* .

The above description presents to out view the develop-
ment of music and dancing in ancient India in general.
There is no mention of Varanasi in the literature sited
above. We would therefore, now tty to see the applica-
bility of these facts in the case of this ancient city.

In order todo so wehaveto go back to the hoary past
when the city of Varanasi was founded by Mahagovinda,
the minister of Emperor Renu (Son of Vishvamitra), and
Dhritarastra was anointed its first king. It was the same

Dhtitarastra, who attempted a horse-sactifice, which

remained incomplete as mentioned in the Satapatha

Brahmana. The band of Aryans, who founded the city

carried with them the Vedic-tradition and practices. The
d the Sama-gana

Sama Veda was there in all its glory an : p
was widely prevalent on the occasion of Yajnas an
otherwise. The life of these Aryans was not confined to

(i) Dr. D.R. RanjitSingh of Allahabad underwent a painful
` surgical operation without clinical anaesthesia while absorb-

‘bed in the classical music of Professor Kashalkar.

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74 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

religion alone. The Brahmans apart, the Kshatriyas and
the Vaishyas lived a life of enjoyment and homely
pleasures. Music, therefore must have been an important
art and received adequate attention, and in conse-
quence all the progress it made in other parts
of the Aryan India at the time, must have had its
counterpart in Varanasi. Even the Upanishadas tell us
that music ennobled the mind and appeased disturbed
thoughts.

This presumption is confirmed as we turn to the
Jataka literature. There we find that Varanasi had al-
ready gone ahead of Taxilla(Taksha-sila)in the teaching of
cettain subjects and music was one of them. ‘There
existed at Varanasi.a School for the teaching of music,
presided over by an expert, who was the chief of his kind in
all India (Jataka 243), and this could have happened only
if the art was at its zenith in this city. |

We have already seen that Varanasi was the centre of
a flourishing commerce and its inhabitants were conseq-
uently in affluent circumstances. Many of its Shreshthis
owned hundreds of crores of Karshapans and lived a life
of luxury. Music and musicians, dancing girls and
actors played an important role in providing enter-
tainment to the people in general and the rich in parti-
cular.. The dancing girls of Varanasi had already earned
fame in the times of Buddha. There is mention of one
such, named Atthakasi, who had migrated to Rajeriha,
the capital of the Magadha Emperors, and whose fees for
one night’s entertainment was five hundred Karshapans.
There is mention of thousands of dancing girls present in
the court of the Varanasi Kings on the occasion of the
Chhatra-mangal festival. Loar E |

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e «= =m

masterpieces.

MUSIC AND DANCING: ` 15°

In the Gupta period, however, Varanasi reached ‘its
zenith in music as in all other spheres of life. There is men-
tion of a dancer from Varanasi, Parakramika by name, who
lived a life of great luxury at Ujjain, in Padataditakam
(beginning of fifth century A. D.); and the profusion of
clay figurines depicting musical scenes found at Rajghat in
1940 has its own story to tell. ;

This tradition continued during the middle ages and
we have an interesting picture of Varanasi dancing girls in
Damodar Bhatta’s Kuttanimatam, which describes a con-
gtegation of actots, and accomplices of the dancing girls
and the women touts, who lured young princes and rich
men. |

At this stage, however, we must remember that the
art of music itself was still respectable but it was getting
into wrong hands and in the end this tendency proved its
undoing and degraded it, with the result that it was discard-

entry. SS
$ ee of if this, the Varanasi people continued their
interest in music, and during the reign of Hussain Shah
Shirqi of Jaunpur it received a great impetus. This-king
was himself a great musician and he is said to:have given :
us two new styles of Todi—the Jaunputi Todi and Hussaini
Todi. Varanasi was a frequent haunt of Jaunpur oe
and itis averred that it was Varanasi singers, who wor a e
admiration of, Hussain Shah by their renderings Of :
During the reign of Emperor Mohammad
Shah two famous singers of Varanasi Sadarang and Adarang
gave a new complexion to Khayal uae ee

In the reign of Aurangeb music had ne receive
royal patronage and the tyrannical behaviour a this Rae |
arch had subdued the spirit of the music enthusiasts Of

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16 ` VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Vatanasi. ‘There was, however, an unprecedented cultural
tevival in Varanasi when Mir Rustam Ali took over as the
govetnor of Varanasi. He was a cultured man and posses-
sed great love for music. He was an accomplished singer
himself and freely joined public festivities of the Hindus.
In fact some people actually declare him as the person, who
started the famous music festival of Varanasi, known as
the Budhwa Mangal—a full account of which will be
found in the chapter on ‘Fairs and Festivals.’

Soonafter King Jahandar Shah II of Delhi came to
Varanasi and was given Chet Singh’s palace at Shivalaghat
for his residence—and with him came his court singers and
musicians. Asafuddaulah the Nawab Vazir of Oudh
was also a great connoisseur of music and he is said to
have reformed Tappa music, originally a Panjabi folk tune,
and in the court of the Maharaja of Benares Mian Gamu
and his sons won approbation by attaining near perfection
in this style. Several female singers of Varanasi also
won praises in this melody.

In thenineteenth century Thumti came into great vogue
and there appeared on the scene two distinct schools of
Thumri music—the Benares .School and the Lucknow
School. Of these the former has succeeded in retaining
the popular qualities of this Ragini and represents its more
pleasing forms, and above all is more lyrical. About the
same time the Varanasi singers set the folk music forms
of Panjabi, Khayal, Chaiti and Ghanto into the tal and garb
of classical melodies. This was a great achievement, which
popularised Varanasi music in other places including the
rival centre of Lucknow, where Bhairavi Thumris and
Dadras of the Varanasi School earned a great reputation;

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MUSIC AND DANCING 77

and the court singers of the great Maharaja Iswari Prasad
Narain Singh of Benares represented the best of Varanasi
music at the time. It was at this stage that Varanasi
established its reputation in instrumental music also—
in Tabla, Sarangi and Shahnai. It was also a famous
centre for Khayal and Dhrupad music. Sitar-players also
earned fame for their delicate rendering of the finer shades
on that difficult instrument.

Before closing this chapter on Varanasi music it is but
proper that a tribute be paid to the masters who brought
both name and fame to this city. A great many of these
names have been lost but those that have been preserved
may be mentioned. |

Chittra and Imambardi were great singers in the first

half of the nineteenth century. Sarasvati Bai and Rajeswari
Bai took the front seat later on and continued to please
their audience for over fifty yeats. Among the masters of

the Dhrupada music may be mentioned the name of Hari

Narayan Mukerji of Dasasvamedha, who was perhaps the
last giant in this field—though Jayakaranji Kathak was an-
other master andhis son-in-law Ram Das kept up the tradi-
tion till his death in recent years. Moyuziddin was the
great master of the Thumrti style. Among the giants of
Umrao Khan andhis brother Muham-

instrumental music,
mad Ali specialised in Vina while Anokhelal earned fame

in Tabla. Mahesh Chandra De was also considered a
great player of Vina. Of the female singers, whe
created a name not only for themselves but also for their
city during the frst fifty years of this century i continua-
tion of the closing years of the nineteenth, mention may
be made of the names of Maina, Vi

Toravi, Chhoti Moti, Husna, Jaddan,

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_—

dyadhati, Bari Moti, —
Kaisar, Jawahar,

78 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Janaki Bai, Kashi Bai, Shahjahan Bai, and Tami Bai. These
minstrels of Varanasi music never agreed to sing cheap
popular forms. ‘They specialised in and insisted on sing-
ing the classical melodiesalone. ‘They had powerful voices
and when some of them sang at Ramnagar in the early
morning during the Budhwa Mangal fair, not only were the
songs audible at Dasasvamedha ghat but one could easily
recognise the voice and name the singer. The audience
of these singers at Varanasi was itself extremely sensitive
to musical excellence and it was not always easy to establish
. one’s reputation as a singer without possessing real ability
and art. Jaddan Bai, whose name has been mentioned
above, proved one such failure. In spite of her great
acquirements she did not succeed in coming up to the
standards of her audience and at last she left Varanasi for
Calcutta and thence for Bombay, where her daughter
Nargis is now a film star.

The name of Gauhar Jan has not been mentioned in
the above list, in spite of the fact that she earned all-India
fame in her day, because she never lived at Varanasi as a
singer—although she learnt the art while Sitting at the feet
of Husna Bai, (Who had brought her up as an adopted
child), one of the unquestioned queens of her domain.

Of these latter but one or two are now alive. Vidya-
dhari being the top-notcher in her day also earned a reputa-
tion for passing the life of an ideal Hindu widow for thirty
five years at her birthplace in village Jasuri—in Chandauli
Tahsil after the death of her admirer. There is an interesting
anecdote about Vidyadhari and het companion at the court
of Maharaja of Benares, Husna Bai. ‘The Prince of Wales
was coming to Varanasi and there was a reception in his
honour at the Maharaja’s palace, in which there was also a

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MUSIC AND DANCING 79

ten-minute music programme. The authorities did not
want to ‘bore? His Royal Highness with Indian music,
which they always considered as dull and inferior to
European music, The Maharaja was, however, anxious
to rebut this unfair impression and Vidyadhari received
the necessary cue. The programme started and the Prince
of Wales remained spell-bound for more than ninety
minutes, and even after that interval had to be reminded
of later engagements. Times have since changed and
Indian music is not only appreciated but also sought after
in most of the western countries. |

As has been mentioned earlier the Varanasi gentry and
even the laity had developed a well educated ear for
music and quite a large number of persons in all walks of
life were themselves singers of repute. Thus there was
no dearth of amateur musicians in the. Varanasi of the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries—and occasionally
they gave an unpleasant shock to the professionals by their
superiot performance. Aclassicalexample ofthis occurred
when Akkhoji, an amateur singer, sat singing on the steps
‘of Dasasvamedha ghat. It was late in the evening and a
moonlit night with a favourable wind blowing. The
singer was singing for his own pleasure and was lost in
ecstasy, and as his voice picked up volume and tone in the
course of a Tan, the song was clearly heard in the Palace at
Ramnagar and Maharaja Iswari Prasad Narain Singh, a
great connoisseur of music as he was, was $O charmed by
its sweetness and cadence that he immediately despatched
a servant by boat to find out who was the author of | that
sweet melody. Akkhoji was invited to the Palace the next ;
day and the Maharaja after praising his abilities requested
him to give him a song or two. Akkhoji agreed , but on.

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|
’
F

80 VARANASI DOWN. THE AGES

condition that he would receive no payment for his songs;
and then he sang, and all were spell-bound. The Maharaja
then turned to his own singers and asked their opinion and
some of them, instead of accepting Akkhoji’s superiority
submitted that the music was but ordinary and the
Mahataja’s ecstacy was caused by the religious theme of
the songs. On hearing this Akkhoji arose and went to |
a nearby window from where he looked out for some
secular theme and this he found in the carcass of a goat
Suspended in a butchers’ shop. He returned to his seat
and extemporised a line which was extremely repulsive

in content! and he sang this line in various ways and in

different tunes and floored everyone Iinciuding his critics.
The Maharaja was very much pleased but was bound by
his promise not to offer any rewards. He, however,
fepaid the singer by the unprecedented courtesy of
accompanying him to the palace gate—an honour rarely

_ bestowed on an individual of Akkhoji’s status.

The splendid traditions of Varanasi music seem to be
safe, for even today there are celebrities of international
fame in all branches of music belonging to this city. Some
of them have even earned distinction by receiving national
awards. Kanthe Maharaj, Gopal Mishra, Rasoolan Bai,
Siddeshwari Devi, Girija Devi, Rai Das, Chhote Hari Shan-
kar Mishra, Shamta Prasad, Krishna Maharaj and many
others are still carryiing the banner sky-high. Andthen
there are Pandit Ravi Shankar, who has earned fame by his
mastery of the Sitar, and Bismilla Khan, the wizard of Shah-
nai, who have created for their country a name in the

—— EE eee
1. The line he sang ran “aaa aft ett eff sez ac a7? Tn English it

would run ‘‘The carcass of the goat is suspended upside down by the
hind legs.”

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Neer

rA
~~

MUSIC AND DANCING QT

western world and obtainedthe Padmabhushanand several
other distinctions and yet are so modest, so full of
humility. The latter’s youngest son Nazim, who is still in
his teens, has shown considerable promise and has already
been praised by foreigers and others. This is a good
augury for this city of music and emotional bliss. Thereis
also Gopi Krishna, who holds aloft the best traditions of
dancing, as a representative of the Benares gharana of the
Kathaks. Fortunately two amateur singers of olden times
ate still among us. Ramaji and Brindabandas Gujrati
though very old are yet. young enough to delight
thir hearers. So is Udai Shankar the great dancer.
Talking of old amateur singers one is reminded of that
great but unfortunate artistMadhava Rao Sapre of Varanasi
who had by sheer pertinacity succeeded in so training his
voice that in the course of an a/ap he could raise it to the
end of the seventh septet. In other words starting from

the first Sahe went up to the usual Ni butthat was not, the .

end. His voice continued to rise beyond this Né and
passed through another complete Septet till it reached the
second Ni, and so he went on till he had reached the
seventh Ni. ‘The strain on his vocal apparatus was tte-

mendous but.he was able to stand it by peseverance and -

j un-
practice.. It was a miraculous performance. One

fortunate day, however, he was singing before Maharaja

dive evecare . rand as he started the last
Digvijai Singh of Balrampu ood vessel of his throat

Septet he gota sneeze and the S eae
burst sian died there and then. He had aa a

self at the altar of his att.

6 . ;

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ER ETT san E

CHAPTER 5

EDUCATIONAL SET-UP INCLUDING
PHYSICAL CULTURE .

Sanskrit Education.

The sphere of Vedic culture in the earliest times was
the Sapta-Saindhava region with its centre round Kuru-
kshetra. It was there that the Vedas were revealed and it
was there that the Vedic Education had its beginning so
far as India is concerned. Every child belonging to the
Dwija families i.e. Brahmans, Kshattriyas and Vaishyas

had to learn the Vedas and the Vedangas. “There were,

therefore, arrangements for this education. It was the
duty of évery Brahman to teach the Vedas and Vedangas
to those boys who approached him for this purpose.
Thus the homes of most Brahmans were schools for these
boys. Some of the more learned among these formed
centres of greater importance. They lived in forests or
gardens usually away from the cities and practised
religious abstinence and Yogic practices. The pupils
living with them were considered to be members of the
family, who shared the duties of the household and
received education both deliberate and intuitional. These
centres were called Ashramas—and these’ teachers were
very often given the appelation of Rishis. The number
of persons involved was not very great and the society
was well-knit and usually the standards of educational
achievement were very high.

The Vedas and Upavedas and the Vedangas provided
varied knowledge and fulfilled all the requirements of the

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EDUCATIONAL SET-UP INCLUDING PHYSICAL CULTURE $83

people in those times. Life was simple and needs few.
The educational curricula were, therefore,less diversified
and specialisation came rather late, and this latter usually
depended on the prescribed distribution of the Brahmans
according to their eligibility fora particular Veda. ‘The
distribution of Vedic lore was accordingly along these
grooves and there were the different Sakhas, Charanas,
and Chhandas to educate pupils in the relevant branches
of Vediclearning. ‘Thus a Yajurvedin knew all the Vedas
in a cursory manner but specialised in the Yajurveda.

There were elaborate and clearcut rules for reciting a patti- —

cular Veda and these had to be assiduously learnt and prac-
tised. Naturally, therefore, it was a laborious process.
A student thus, had to join his Guru’s Ashram when
he was but a child— mare] ag matar (in the eighth
year from conception or from birth), and he grew up
in the Guru’s home as one of the family. He served the
Guru and his family as his.own and performed any and
every sort of domestic duties from grazing cows to
agricultural farming. In between these duties he learnt
his lessons. He lived for sixteen to twentyfour years at
the Ashrama and left it only when he had fully mastered
the subject of his special study. The guru had to provide
his physical needs all these years and when leaving he
paid Guru Dakshina (honorarium) according to his means.
All these years he led a life of Brahmacharya and now he
was to go back to his home, his parents and relations and
lead thelifeof a Grihastha (householder) after marriage. A
few words seem necessary to give an idea of what Brahma-
charya implies. It means not only physical celibacy but

even mental discipline,
sex and sexual enjoyments,

~
n .

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ps
—

which precludes all thought of
. And now that he was leaving”

84 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

his guru’s Ashrama to enter the world, he was given the
following parting advice :

“Speak the truth. Practise virtue. Do not neglect
the study of the Vedas. Having paid the honorarium to
your preceptor (i. e. having returned home at the close of
your studies) do not cut off the line of children (1. e. marry

_ and bring up a family). Do not swerve from the truth.

Donot swerve fromvirtue. Donot swerve from the good.
Do not be indifferent to the attainment of greatness. Do
not neglect your duties to the gods and to your parents.
Honour your mother as a deity. Honour your father as
a deity. Honour your guest as a deity. Do those deeds
which are commendable, and not those that. are other-
wise. Imitate our good deeds and not those that are other-
wise....Give alms with a willing heart. Do not give
with an unwilling heart. Give wisely. Give with
modesty. Give with fear. Give with a sympathetic

heart.” Quoting the above E. B. Havell says ‘“The ethical

standpoint of the Aryan Race, as put forward in the
Upanishads some three thousand years ago, can hardly
be surpassed in the present day.” !

In course of time the size of some of the Ashramas
grew and famous teachers had quite a sizable following of
pupils. In these Ashramas the gutu was of course the
presiding deity but the older pupils taught the younget
ones and initiated them into the intricacies of grammat
or logic or other disciplines. Notonly this. Even learned
men and thinkers visited these Ashramas occasionally
either to get their own intellectual doubts removed of
with a desire to get some sort of a recognition for their

1. Benares the Sacred City by E. B. Havell pp. 11-12.

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EDUCATIONAL SET-UP INCLUDING PHYSICAL CULTURE 85

learning and even of their spiritual hypotheses. In the
latter case there were discussions and desertations often
in the Ashramas but sometimes also in the courts of kings,
who wete very often themselves learned men, having
passed their boyhood and early youth in some Ashrama
or the other. Writing about these discussions Havell says
“The greatest freedom of thought was allowed and the
rules, which regulated the debates were only those which
were approved of as likely to lead to sound conclusions.
The rewards for debaters who showed profound thought
and argument were not less liberal than those which were
given to successful composers and sactificets, but the
penalties for those who infringed the rules of logicor
spoke foolishly, were heavy.’ Rigveda has actually
mentioned such discussions". These Ashramas were
thus not only schools or colleges but the greatest among
them had the reputation and the authority of giving.
recognition to meritorious scholarship which latter in
the result bore the hallmark of a University Doctorate.

It would be worthwhile giving a brief account of one
or two of such ashrams—or centres of education. This
is. also necessary to show that all education did not
continue to be religious or philosophical—though the
development of all branches took place round the central

religious needs.

Notable Educational Centres |
In those early days some teachers had earned special

reputation and theirt Ashramas attracted not only young

pupils but also senior Vratacharins and learned men well

ee E

1. Benares the Sacred City by E. B. Havell p. 7.
2. Rigveda 10—71. ©

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ne ee, Gee | ome pea >

86 - VARANASI DOWN: THE AGES

advanced in Vedic studies. The Mahabharata tells us
ofsome of these outstanding centres of light and learning
of which two will be mentioned here in detail.

The most important among these at the time was in
the Naimisha forest in the present Sitapur District, the
hermitage of Shaunaka, who performed a twelve year
Yajna, as part of which there had to be discourses and dis-
putations of learned men on religious, philosophical, and
scientific topics. It was a full-fledged Ashrama with
all the eight departments properly organised viz.
(i) Agnisthan—worship and prayets (ii) Brahmasthan—
Department of Vedas; (iii) Vishnusthan—Department for
teaching Rajaniti, Arthaniti, and Vartta; (iv) Mahendra-
sthana—Military Section ;(v) Vivasvatasthana—Depattment
of Astronomy; (vi) Somasthana—Department of Botany;
(vit) ‘“Garudasthana—Section dealing with transport and
conveyances; and (viii) Kartikeyasthana—Department

teaching military organisation, how to form patrols,
battalions, and army.1

Then there was the hermitage of Rishi Kanva, situat-
ed on the river Malini. It was a large settlement and
round it were several other hermitages. “In modern phra-
Seology it was a University-colony in the midst of a forest,
Where the whole forest resounded with the chanting
and recitation of the Vedas by thefamilies of a largenumber
of teachers and their pupils. ‘There were specialists in’
all branches of learning in that colony : specialists in each
of the four Vedas, in sacrificial literature and art, Kalpa-
Sutras, in the art of reciting the Samhitas according to the
Pada and Kramapatha, and in orthoepy generally, and in

1, Ancient Indian Education—Radha Kummid Mukerji—p. 333.

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periods and three important c

EDUCATIONAL SET-UP INCLUDING PHYSICAL CULTURE 87

Shiksha (Phonetics), Chhandas (Metrics),Sabda(Vyakarana),
and Nirukta. There were also philosophers well-versed
in Atma-Vijnana (Science of the Absolute), in Brahmo-
pasana (worship of Brahma), in Mokshadharma (the way to
salvation), and in Lokayata (Vaisheshika). There were
also logicians knowing the principles of Nyaya and of
Dialectics. ‘There were also specialists in physical sciences
and atts e. g. experts in the art of constructing sacrificial
alters of various dimensions (solid geometry), dravya-
gyana (chemistry and medicine), physical processes and
their results, causes and their effects, and zoologists having
special knowledge of monkeys and birds.
‘The hermitages of Vyasa, Vashishtha, Visvamitra and
several others near Kurukshetra and in Kamyaka forest
on the banks of Sarasvati, were also famous for producing
eminent Rishis, who carried forth the torch of Vedic
learning.+

It may be noticed here that Taxilla and Varanasi find
no mention here, showing that they attained importance
later on—after the Mahabharata War. It has also to be
realised that the above descriptions given in the Maha-
bharata are not descriptions of contemporary events but
of-institutions of the hoary past, which continued their
existence even at the time of the Mahabharata War (1200-
1400 B. C.).

As time advanced Vedic religion continued. its process
through the well known Sutra and Epic
entres of Education and
Varanasi, and Mithila.
galore of the centre at

of evolution

Philosophy developed at Taxilla,
‘The Upanishads give us descriptions

—— ; 2
1. Ancient Indian Education by R. K. M. p- 333 et seq.

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88 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Mithila under the famous Janaka, and occasional references
are also. available about Varanasi, where its king Ajata-
satru held his court, but very few details of this centre
ate available. ‘axilla is to be inferred from the incident
of Asvapati, the king of Kekaya instructing five great
Brahman theologions—Prachinasala, Satyayajna, In-
dradyumna, Janaand Budela, who approached him under
the leadership of Uddalaka Aruni, himself a very great
teacher, for instruction in the mystery of Vaisvanara.
These three seats of learning continued their glorious

existence for several centuries but gradually the fame of
Mithila did not keep pace with that of the other two and
learned men gathered at Taxilla and Varanasi in greater
numbers, even though later on Mithila had a tenaissance
and was famous for several centuries beginning with
1350 A.D.; and it was Mithila which gave birth to the
famous Nadia University if one could call it as such.

During the Buddhist period Vedic education conti-
nued its onward march and to it was added the Education
of Buddhist philosophy. and religion. The decriptions
of education and educational centres during this period
deal specially with Buddhist subjects but Varanasi does
find respectful mention along with Sarnath. For example
Kosiya and Titter Jatakas clearly mention that the teachers
at Varanasi taught the three Vedas and eighteen crafts.
Khuddakapatha Atthakatha tells us that some edu-
cational institutions of Varanasi were older than those of
Taxilla. ‘Taxilla is, however, described in greater detail
as an educational centre where learned teachers of the
arts of peace and war continued to flourish.

There were schools of medicine, law and military
_ science, and a king of Varanasi sent at the King’s

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EDUCATIONAL SET-UP. INCLUDING PHYSICAL CULTURE 39

expense a Brahman boy—Jotipala—to ‘Taxilla for
education in archery. The fame of Varanasi even
according to the Jatakas was so great in the matter
of learning that it had been given the name of Brahma-
Vaddhana as has been already shown in an earlier chapter,
and it has been clearly said there that Varanasi was one of
the six most important cities and the most important
educational centre in India. It is said that teachers of
Varanasi were graduates of Taxilla and that there was
‘a free exchange of teachers and pupils. ;

A rather detailed account of the educational
System of the Vedic and later period has been given above
to familiarise the reader with a subject which has often
received rather harsh treatment for want of correct
information, the general impression being that during
these long-days of Indian history, the Rishis had no
interest in anything non-religious and that life was all

worship and penance.
We know that at the time of the Mahabharata War

(1200 to 1400B.C.) life was fully lived and enjoyed. There .

-were giants in all the fields of learning, art, and crafts,
‘and these great personalities could not have been pro-
duced without a well developed scheme of education,
both religious and secular. Even a cursory look at the
literature produced before 700 B. C. would show that
the educational system as it had developed from about
2000 B. C. (according to Max Muller) and earlier had
- borne ample friut in all spheres of life.

it would be but a truism to say

To come to Varanasi, 1t WO E
that the best traditions of education and learning wer

being followed in this “city since its establishment and
‘under the rule of KingDhritarashtza and

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90... = VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Renu, the son of Visvamitra. The very fact that the
former in due course attempted the Ashvamedha (Hotse-
sacrifice) is evidence of continued Vedic education
here —forthis sacrifice needs a pretty long list of religious
functionaries and learned men. Notonly this, there are
needed a still larger number of persons adept’ in secular.
arts and crafts.

Before the time of the Mahabharata War Varanasi
had already earned a renown for its learning during the
days of Ajatasatru, its great philosopher king, and even
later it was considered as a great centre of philosophical
disciplines. That the system of education obtaining here
was the same as the one described above is proved by the
existence of Educational institutions of the earliest type—
the Charanas and Chhandas tight upto the Gupta period
(500 A. D.) the seals of which have been discovered in
the Rajghat excavations at Varanasi. These seals show
that there was at least one Bahvricha Charana-for the
teaching of the Rigveda, (See illustration) and a Charaka
Charana for the teaching of Krishna Yajurveda. For
the Samaveda there were several institutions for six
separate seals have been discovered. They all bear the
heading ‘sraa’ on the obverse but there are different
emblems or. inscriptions on the reverse. Then there.
was an institution for the teaching of all the four
Vedas called Chaturvidya Charana, and for three
Vedas a Traividya Charana (see illustration). There was
also a Sarvatra Vidyacharan for the teaching of all
aspects of Vedic learning. :

Thus far about Vedic education at Varanasi. In regard
to other branches of learning the very fact that pupils.
from all over India clustered at Varanasi for education.

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Wi CEET E E

EDUCATIONAL SET-UP INCLUDING PHYSICAL CULTURE 91

is an. evidencë that’ all those branches received their
full quota of instruction in various institutions. It must,
however, be remembered that all these institutions were
being run by individual Acharyas and that there were

pethaps no organised schools, where a large number of —

pupils were to study. Even in the Gupta period when
Nalanda and Vikramashila had come up as organised
centres of education, Varanasi did not consider it worth-
while to establish such an institution. It was satisfied with
the individual teachers carrying on their sacred duty of
teaching by themselves. There was to be no mass-pro-
duction of Pandits ` so far as Varanasi was concerned :
‘they were to stand on the sounder principle of personal
contact and individual attention. Itmay be mentioned
here that this practice continued at Varanasi all along and
-continues even to this day, in spite of the fact that there are
quite a large number of Pathashalas teaching upto the
post-graduate standard (Achatya degree) anda full-fledged
Sanskrit University. It has all along been considered a
sacred duty by these Acharyas of Varanasi to teach at their
own houses any one who sought this privilege, and even
the teachers employed in the Pathashalas and the Univers-
ity continue to do so at home, and all the time it has been

a labour of loveand even the proverbial Guru Dakshina —

has not been demanded or ‘accepted. By the time we
teach the eleventh and twelfth centuries A. D. the scheme

of Sanskrit education had already been split up into two

‘sections. On the one hand there were the traditional Vedic
Pathashalas, which specialised in the Shastric . leaning
and where the pupils received expert and specialist ins-
truction in the Vedas, Sahitya (literature ), grammar,

different systems of Philosophy like Nyaya, ‘Mimansa,

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92 . VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Sankhya, Yoga, Vedanta, and Vaisheshika, Astronomy
and Astrology, or Ayurveda (medicine). Theseinstitutions,
which were often connected with famous temples and

monasteries, were the life line of Sanskrit education and they
produced learned specialists in these lines. Fora thousand
years the ideal before the scholars had been the attain-
ment of specialised knowledge in all the six Shastras (dis-
ciplines) and those who were able tọ achieve this status
were called Shatsbastris (learned in the six Shastras) and
they received not only respect but veneration from every
one including the reigning sovereign. Sri Harsha, the
author of Naishadha, who was attached to the court of the
Gahadwal Kings of Varanasi and Kannauj writes “are
anai a saa: taga” (I am he who receives a couple
of prepared betels and an honoured seat from the king of
Kannauj). Another example is that of Bhatta Lakshmi-
dhar, the Prime Minister of Maharaja Govind Chandra
Deva of Varanasi and Kannauj and the author of Kritya
Kalpataru, an authorative book on Dharmashastra with
encyclopaedic contents running into several thousand
pages (published in the Gaekwad Series). And this great
scholar, now a Prime Minister and earlier the Chief

Justice, was also a soldier of repute and an able
administrator. ;

This variety of educational institutions continued to:
exist right upto the time of the East India Company and
does exist even now though in an abated and crumbling
condition as we shall see in due course.

The other variety of Pathashalas was that which gave
the pupils an elementary knowledge of Sanskritt for daily
use. Here the mehods were altogether different. Sans-
-krit was now (eleventh century onwards) no longer the:

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EDUCATIONAL SET-UP INCLUDING PHYSICAL CULTURE 93

language of the people. It was now the language of the
learned and the educated. To be considered an educated
man, a person had to acquire a working knowledge of
Sanskrit. ‘The method employed to give this knowledge
was to compare phrases in the then current language
(whatever name be given to it) and their Sanskrit parallels.
Damodar Bhatta’s book ‘Ukti Vyakti Prakaranam’ written
in the twelfth century may be considered almost a text
book of this methodology. (This book has recently been
published in the Sindhi Jaina Granthamala Series).
We have clearly said that in ancient India very often
the teachers not only taught their pupils but also provided
them with food and other necessities of life and treated
them as members of their family. This practice could be
traced right up to the twelfth century. The Gahadwal
Kings of Varanasi had been granting villages to learned
men in Varanasi and that these men were learned special-
ists is evident from the appelations RAT ACT, agaat, Waa
ae, aadar, feral, Gravatt to their names. It needs
to be clearly realised here that agact, fact, farsi,” were
not family names at the time as they. have since be-
come but rather denotedthe academic abilities of persons-
It was out of these resources that the teachers supported
their families including a certain number of pupie!
S had given birth to several classical giants

in the sphere of medicine. In fact the father of Indian

Medical Science Dhanvantari was born as Kashiraj in this

1. Rigveda Charana, Chaturvedi, Yajurveda Charana, Atharva
Veda Charana, Dvivedi, Chhandogya Charana,

2. Chaturvedi, Dvivedi, Tripathi.

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Tripathi etc.

= : Vist
A í Ah KS
a Sa a d- nN 7
< x aa EE

BQ ANS a; VARANASI DOWN THE AGES.

city and it was here that he taught the science to Sushruta,
who specialised not only in Rasa-Prakriya (use. of metals
and their salts as medicines), but also in surgery, the
plastic surgery of today having been born directly from
his writings as acknowledged by westen surgeons. ‘The
tradition was kept up down the centuries as we shall see
in due course. After 1194 A. D. when Varanasi was con-
quered by Qutubuddin Aibak, no doubt Sanskrit educa-
tion as such received asetback but remained quite alive.
In Varanasi proper the teachers continued their work
as before, but more quietly. The Vedas were perhaps
recited in the seclusion of rooms in a lower voice. The
narrow winding lanes of the old town helped beause the
Muslims were not always going into the interior. Besides
after the destruction of the Rajghat fort and occupation of
nearby localities by the Muslims, people living in these
localities were cutting down forests and settling down in
small groups around the ruins of old temples — surrounded
by forest all around. This condition must have remained
only for a hundred years or so because we find that inthe
reign of Mohammad Tughlaq (1325-1351 A. D.) Varanasi
_ was once again flourishing as a centre of Sanskrit learning.

According to Jina Prabha Suri—a Jaina savant, who
had received respectful attention in the court of that
sovercign, there were quite a number of specialists not only
in Shabdanushasana (grammar and linguistics, dramatics,
and figures of speech), astronomy and astrology,
Churamani, Nimitta Shastra and literature, but also experts
in Dhatuvada (metallurgy) Rasavada (chemistry including
medicine), Khanyavad (geology and mining), and
Yantravidya (mechanics). We may remember here that soon
after this periodin the reign of Firoz Tughlak (1351-1388)

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EDUCATIONAL SET-UP INCLUDING PHYSICAL CULTURE 95

considerable anti - Hindu activities continued in Varanasi.
Not only Jazia was imposed on the Brahmanas for the
first time but also quite a number of mosques were
constructed in place of Hindu temples, and the tone of
Vedic Education must have been, therefore, rather subdued.
It is on record that during the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries quite an exodus of learned Pandits took place
towards South India. It is, however, averred that Kullabha
Bhatta wrote his commentary on the Manusmriti at
Varanasi during this period. ` l
Development of the medical Science had continued
all these days even after 1194 A. D. but surgery had not
only declined but had been practically given up by the
medical men. It was now being practised by the cleverer
barbers and Muslim Jarrahas. There was, however, to
bea further brightening up of medical education at Varanasi
soonafter in later centuries because of an influx of Maha-
rashtra and Karnataka scholars to this holy city, who
brought with them great traditions of scholarship in alk
branches of learning including the medical science. A
great upsurge of educational activity was thus brought
about as we shall presently see. l
It appears, however, that Varanasi was soon to face
another violent storm of religious, bigotry in 1496 A. D.,
fot soon after Sikandar Lodi ascended the throne another
_-wave of iconoclastic violence visited Varanasi. We ‘do
not know what the actual condition of education in
Varanasi was those days but we can imagine its fate.
Practically all temples in Varanasi were pulled down and

the educational institutions connected with them suffered

the same fate. Individual teachers were thus the om
, Source of education left and they too suffered considera s

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. a,

96 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

persecution at the hands of their new sovereign. Sans-
krit education as such was now really in doldrums. Writ-
ing in the eleventh century Firdosi had clearly stated that
‘earned men had already left the places of Muslim influence
and had fled to Kashmir and Vatanasi. The same fate
overtook the Pandits.of Varanasi now and they fled to
the South or hid themselves in remote villages. For
more than fifty years the lamp of learning burnt very
low indeed in Varanasi- though the number of learned
men as such was perhaps unaffected. Meanwhile Muslim
power had reached the South too and so the exodus of
learned men from Varanasi to the southern provinces of
India had to come to an end. In fact a counterwave
had already started and Pandits from Maharashtra and
Karnatak were now moving to the nothern states, and as we
shall see, the resurrection of Sanskrit learning in Varanasi
was brought about by these savants from the southern
states. In the earlier years of his reign even Akbar, was —
against Varanasi and in 1567 A. D. when he conquered the
city for the second time, he actually ordered it to be
plundered. [Altekar — Tabakat-i-Akbari]. It was only after
1584 A.D., when the fort at Allahabad had been complet-
ed and the headquarters of the Suba had been transferred
there, that Varanasi went out of Muslim political lime-
light and in this twilight of political neglect a reconstruct-
ion of intellectual Varanasi took place.

That Sanskrit learning was in doldrums during three
centuries and more since 1194 A.D. is proved by the fact
that practically no learned books were written during this
period. Early in the sixteenth century, however, as stated
above, several learned families from Maharashtra and
Karnatak came to Varanasi and permanently settled down

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EDUCATIONAL SET-UP INCLUDING PHYSICAL CULTRUE 97

here. Dharmadhikaris, Sesas, Bhattas and Maunis were
the chief among these, and as Dr. Altekar says “members
of these families and their disciples dominated Benares
scholarship for more than three centuries”. Of these families
the Dharmadhikaris have been credited with writing the
Dattaka-mimansa and the Parasuram-prakasa, eminent and
authoriative works on Dharmashastra. Of the Sesas,
Sesa Vishnu wrote an elaborate commentary on Patan-
jals Mahabhashya to be followed by Sesa Krishna
with seven books on Sanskrit and Prakrit grammar
and one on Dharmashastra. The latter’s brother Sesa
Chintamani wrote several books including the famous
Rasa-manjari-parimala. Sesa Krishna’s son Viresvata
earned fame from his three pupils, who shone and still
shine with rare brightness in the Sanskrit firmament.
Of these Jagannath Panditraja hardly needs an intro-
duction. The name of Bhattoji Dikshit is resonant
all over the Sanskrit world as the author of the
Siddhanta Kaumudi in which he rearranged Panint’s
Sanskrit Grammar and which practically usurped the
place of Panini’s Ashtadhyayi and is even now consi
dered to be the last word in modern Sanskrit Grammar.
The third was Annambhatta, whose Tarka Sangraha 1s
still considered an authority. Of the Bhattas, the most

, who earned the title of Jagad-
noted was Bhatta Narayan gelee

ru and whose memory is kept alive by oks
Paana A and Tristhalisetu, and who was responsible

in 1585 A. D. for the re-erection by Todarmal of the

Visvesvara temple, which had lain in ruins since 1496.A.D.,

when it was demolished by Sikandar Lodi. Several of

his descendants and members of the family have produced
important books,which are still considered authoxitiss in

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: yó — a TREES

98 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

their spheres. Members of these and other families conti-
nued their above mentioned literary activities in the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and as Dr. Altekar says
“Contribution of Benares to Sanskrit scholarship and
literature during the period 1500 —1 800 A. D. is undoubt-
edly much greater than that of any other three con-
temporary centres of Sanskrit learning put together”.
(History of Benares p. 43).

The details of literary contribution given above may
seem to be somewhat out of placein a chapter on education
but actually this is not so, for literary traditions were
created not by individuals alone but by their pupils and
these pupils were products of the educational system —
the guru teaching his sons and nephews along witha large
number of pupils, some of whom occasionally outshone

their teachers themselves. Describing the system of

Sanskrit education at Varanasi in 1660 A. D. Bernier
writes “Varanasi actually is a sort of University but
unlike the European Universities there are no colleges and
no organized classes. Teachers ate spread all over the
city and teaching goes on at their residences. Some
teachers have four, others six pupils, the most famous
teacher may have twelve to fourteen students but never
more. ‘These pupils first learnt Sanskrit with the help
of gtammar. Puranas came next and ultimately they
specialised in Philosophy, medicine, astronomy etc.”

Early in the eighteenth century there was another
influx of learned men from the South specially from
Maharashtra. The main cause of this has been attributed
to the establishment of Maratha States and consequent
escalation of Maratha influence in northern India, and this

is strengthened by the fact that quite a large number of

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EDUCATIONAL SET-UP INCLUDING PHYSICAL CULTURE 99

important familes of Maharashtra Brahmans moved north-
wards and settled down in Gwalior, Jhansi, Jalaun, Banda,
Chittrakut, and Bithur (Dt. Kanpur) in addition to Varanasi,
where Narayan Dikshit, the spiritual preceptor of the Pesh-
wa settled down. He was not only a learned scholar
but also a person of considerable spiritual achievements
and humanitarian outlook. The mansion in which he
lived is still in existence and the quarter of the city round
about bears his name (Narayan Dikshit Ka Mohalla). Of
the scholats who came to Varanasi at the time, there were
several Vedic scholars, who founded their own Vedic
seminaries. Thus there were once again two kinds
of institutions for the teaching of the Vedas. Those
wherein learned scholars taught a limited number of pupils
in there own homes, and those which accommodated a
larger number of pupils and where discipline was more
formal.

Varanasi tradition knows of several such Vedashalas,
the earliest among these being that of Dinkar Anna Joshi—
a great Vedic Scholar, who had travelled on foot all the
way from the south. He settled down neat the present
Shitalaghat and started a school in his own house. It had
a small beginning but very soon it attracted pupils by its
excellence. ‘There was also a special reaon for the growth
‘of Vedic Education. The Indian Princes provided not

ment to learned Pandits in their own courts
eee agricultural land and residential houses to

scholars in Varanasi. They also established Chhatras

dent got free food.
here where any and every Brahman stu o foc
As the number of pupils gtew, Dinkar Anna Joshi had

to run his seminary in two shifts—from six in the morning
to eleven in the forenoon, and from two in the afternoon

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GA pi ARS

J eS ' ae À

100 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

to six in the evening. This giant among scholars had all
the ten books by heart and so he could tackle 5 or 6 pupils
at a time, giving each of them guidance in his separate
sphere of studies. He was a stern teacher and a strict
disciplinarian——and to him the welfare of the school was a
passion, which excluded altogether thoughts of a personal
nature. He was now getting old and was-worried about
his successor, whom he soon found in the person of Bala
_ Dikshit Kale—a young man of twenty or so. ‘This young
scholar was found to be a fit successor to Dinkar Anna
Joshi and soon enough the latter had installed him in his
own place in the Pathashala—and after some time he
found his final restat Manikarnika —thecynosure of Hindus
approaching death. The school continued to maintain
its reputation for quitesa long time till the death of Bala
Dikshit Kale in due course, after whom it gradually de-
clined but only after it had produced a large number of
eminent Vedic scholars of whom the names of Rama
Bhatta Ratate, Babubhatta Randohkar, Vinayak Dikshit
Panchgaonkar, Chunni Lal Dave, Vireswar Bhatta Rando-
hkar, Ram Krishna Phadke, Triambuk Dikshit Bhatt,
Visnupadhye Gurjar, Somnath Dikshit Kale, and Rajaram
Bhatta Patwardhan deserve special mention.
Contemporaneously with Dinkar Anna Joshi another
great Vedic Scholar came to northern India with a de-
sire to start a Vedic school at Varanasi but. circum-
stances compelled him to settle down at Jalaun, where
he started a Vedic School and in due course of time
sent his best pupil to start a similar school at
Bithur, who in his turn sent his top pupil Vinayak
Bhatta Dongre to start a Vedic shcool at Varanasi.
The latter settled down at Brahmaghat and soon started

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‘ EDUCATIONAL SET-UP INCLUDING PHYSICAL CULTURE 101

a seminary in the nearby Shenbai Math, which gained
in reputation and in a short time was the leading
Vedashala of the time. The discipline and rules here were
quite as stringent as those at Dinkar Anna Joshi’s. The
pupils had to reach the school at six inthe morning after
partaking of a light meal of rice, ghee, and salt. Ifsome
pupil came without this morning meal the teacher (Dongre)
arranged for it in his own house, but he never allowed any
pupil to sit down to the hard exercise of Vedic learning
on an empty stomach. There sat Dongre himself teaching
several pupils at a time till eleven in the forenoon. The
school was again to meet in the afternoon at two to continue
till 6 P.M. There were no holidays. The four traditional
weekly holidays were utilised in revising old lessons.
After Dongre’s death his best pupil Bhikkam Bhatta
Patwardhan took charge-of the school and transferred
it to his own residence in Hathigali and continued to run
it as efficiently as before and produced a host of eminent
Vedic scholars, of whom Sonbhatta Achawal, Bhik Bhatta
Nanal, Kashinath Hardikar, Vishwanath Deva, and Mor-
bhatta Dhekare may be mentioned as the best pupils of
' Dongre himself; and after him Balkrishna Sapre, Anant
alias Babuguru Patwardhan, Dattu Dikshit Panchgaon-
kar, Mukund Dewasthale, Ganapati Pitre, Babu Padhye
and Raghunath Bhatta Kelkar sat at the feet of Bhikkam
Bhatta Patwardhan and earned the reputation of being
great Vedic scholars. Bhikkam Bhatta was. followed by

his son Babaguru, who is still running the school as | :

efficiently
who has been: awarded the ti

the Ratnagiri Institute. This
existence for over 125 years and

tle of Vaidik Ratna by

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Pathashala has been in ;
is perhaps the oldest now. $

-as before at the age of eighty and more and —

102 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Several pupils of Dongre later on opened their own
Vedashalas and produced a sizable number of eminent
Vedic scholars. Besides these Rajaram Kslekar, Sri-
krishna Deoghar, Balkrishna Nene, Babu Dikshit Yagya-
vartu, Chandra Shekhar Dravid, Ganesh Vapat, and
Somnath Vapat ran their own Pathashalas and sent out
many able Vaidikas.

Of these latter Kashi Nath Shastri introduced the system
of conducting discussions in Vyakarana afterthe style of
Navya Nyaya—asystem which was developed by his pupil
Raja Ram Shastri Karlekar, who earned great fame as the
preceptor of the brilliant all-sided schoar Bala Shastri
of international fame. The latter’s best pupils were
Mahamahopadhyaya Shiva Kumar Shastri, Mahamaho-
padhyaya Gangadhar Shastri C.I.E. (see portrait) and
Vaiyakaran Kesari Damodar Shastri Bharadwaja. These
three giants pave Varanasi a host of great scholars,
among whom may be mentioned M. M. Giridhar Sharma
Chaturveda, Nityanand Parvatiya, Bhavani Dutt Dikshit,
Sabhapati Upadhyaya, Ram Yash, Chandradhar Sharma,
Damodar Lal Goswami, Ramavatar Sharma, Tara Charan
Bhattacharya, Narain Shastri Khiste and Satya Narain
Shastri. The last named scholar earned international fame
as an Ayurvedic Physician and passed away but pesca Ly
(see portrait).

Then there was Mahamahopadhyaya Nyaya-Kailas-
_ Shiromani Vama Charan Bhattacharya, at whose feet sat
Panditraja Rajeshwar Shastri Dravida, the first Sanskrit
scholar to receive Padma Bhushana. M.M. Prabhu Dutta,
Vidyadhar Gauda, Ananda Charan ‘Tarkachudamani,
Gopinath Kaviraj, Sitaram Shastri were also shining lights
of their times and each and all of them have left behind

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EDUCATIONAL SET-UP INCLUDING PHYSICAL CULTURE 103

them a galaxy of brilliant stars. ‘These scholars followed
the ancient tradition of teaching pupils at their houses free
ofany obligation. It may bementioned here that over and
above these great men there were hundreds, ifnot thousands
of pandits — great and small— who were engaged in
carrying forward the torch of Sanskrit learning at
Varanasi, whose names it is not possible to enumerate.

The other type of schools mentioned earlier ewhich
sought to provide working knowledge of Sanskrit on the
basis of the language of the people, were functioning all
the time since the production of Ukti-Vyakti-Prakaranam
mentioned earlier (Twelfth century A. D.). In the seven-
teenth and eighteenth centuries, however, two more books
of the same variety appeared on the scane. One Gir-
vanapada Manjari was written between 1600 and 1650
A.D. by Varadaraja, a pupil of the famous grammarian
Bhattoji Dikshit, mentioned earlier as one of the greatest
scholars of Vyakarana. Theother, Girvana Vak Manjati
was written by Dhundhiraja between 1702 and 1704 A. D.
and these three continued tobe used as text books in this
type of schools for a very long time.

As said earlier the learned type of Pathashalas were
entirely based on the individual efforts of teachers and
consequently with the exception of one of two (described
in detail earlier) catered to the need of only four or five
scholars atatime. ‘The first step in establishing a regular
school was taken by Maharaja Jat Singh of Amber in :
the Kangan-wali Haveli near Bindu Madhava T emple
built by him in 1585. A.D. It provided instruction to

sons of social highups an mbe: pils
was not very large. The school continued its good work =

wr 1669 A. D. when the temple of Bindu Madhava wis i

d even there the number of pupils

104 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

demolished along with the school—though the building
in which it was housed still remains as the Ram Mandir
next door to the Minarettes Mosque.

The real step in this direction was, however, taken in
1791 A. D., when Jonathan Duncan, the Agent of the
East India Company at Varanasi founded the Sanskrit
Pathashala, which later on became the Government
Sanskrit College, and since 1958 has been raised to the
status of a chartered University as the Varanaseya Sanskrit
Visvavidyalaya. |

In 1791 Jonathan Duncan suggested to the Earl of
Cornwallis, the then Governor General, that “a certain
portion of thesurplus revenueof the Province or Zamindari
of Benares should be set apart for the support of a Hindu
College, or academy for the preservation and cultivation
of the Sanskrit literature and religion of that nation, at
this the centre of their faith and the common resort of their
tribes.” Two advantages were expected to accrue from
this —one, to popularise the British Government to the
Hindus, and two, to provide learned Pandits to assist the
Judges in deciding cases involving the Hindu Law. A
sumofRs 1400/-perannum was sanctioned for the purpose
and the institution then known as the Sanskrit Pathshala
came into existence on 28th October 1791 in a rented
house near the Maidagin Tank. Hight Pandits were
appointed, of whom six were to recieve a monthly salary
of 100/- each and two that of 80/- each. Nine students
wete to receive free education and the rest had to pay
for their tuition. In 1795 Kashinath Sidhanta, educated
at the Pathshala was appointed as a Pandit of the Diwani
Adalat at Shahabad. In 1798 2 committee consisting of
G. F. Cherry, Samuel Davis, and Captain Wilford with the

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EDUCATIONAL SET-UP INCLUDING PHYSICAL CULTURE 105

Governor Generals’s Agent as President, was formed to
look after the affairs of the institution with all the powers
enjoyed by the Resident so far. Later on the salaries of
the teachers were reduced and ranged from Rs 40 to 60/-
pet month and 60 stipends to pupils at Rs 1 |-to Rs 10/-
per pupil werefixed by the commitee. The Head Preceptor,
or Rector was to receive a salary of Rs 200 per month.

In 1802 another pupil of the Pathshala was appointed
as Pandit of the Zila Court at Rangpur and two others in
1807 and 1809. ‘The Pathshala was reorganised in 1820
and Captain Edward Fell of the 10th Regiment Native
Infantry was appointed Secretary to the Committee and
directed to work as Superintendent of the College, now
called Benares College, on a monthly allowance of Rs 450/-
in addition to his military pay. In January1821, thirty two
students outstanding in their own subjects were rewarded
4 sum of Rs. 960/- in gold mohurs, most of them getting
two mohurs each except two who got three and one who
got only one., A public examination in the form of a
disputation was also held at the time, in grammar, logic,
metaphysics, philosophy, and law. The annual public
disputation was a glorious one, for on that occasion the
college received a sum of Rs. 4378/- as donation from
local elite, including 1000/- from the Maharaja of Benares.

In July 1823, a General Committee of Public Instruct-

ion was constituted and the control of the college was

d to it. ; PASAS
Raat 1830 the Benares Anglo-Indian Seminaty was

established—not as part of the pune
institution. Its name was changed in enares

Government School, and its He
as Secretary to the Local Committee an

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college but as an independent

admaster was. appointed
d Superintendent —

106 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

of the Sanskrit College in addition to his own duties. It
was only in 1844 that a whole time Principal was appoint-
ed in the person of Mr. J. Muir, and simultaneously the
English School and the Sanskrit (or Hindu) College were
placed in his charge as the Benares College. His stay was,
however, short and he was succeeded by that eminent Prin-
cipal Dr. J. R. Ballantyne LLD, who may be regarded
as the real intellectual founder of the Benares College.
Afterthe assumption of the administration of India by the
Crown the name of the College was changed into Queen’s
College. There was a succession of learned European
orientalists and others on the staff of the Benares College
and the Principals were all exceptionally able men, who
produced English translations of standard Sanskrit books
like Griffith’s Ramayan and the English translation of the
Vedas. Names of Wright, Gough, Thibaut, and Venis
may be mentioned in this connection. After Dr. A. Venis
there were no orientalists left on the European staff and
the next Principal Mr. P. S. Burrell was from the English
side, Mr. Jennings having already moved out as Principal
_ of the Muir Central College at Allahabad. As a result of the
recommendations of the Hartoge Commision, the degree
and post-graduate classes of the Queen’s College were
abolished and the two Colleges were separated to form the
Government Sanskrit College with Dr. Sir Ganganatha
Jhaas Principal, and the Queen’s Intermediate College
with Mr. B. Sanjiva Rao as its head a little later.

The Government Sanskrit College continued its placid
existence as a virtual University, affiliating colleges from all
over India and Nepal, conducting its own examinations,
and grantingits owndegrees till 1958, when Dr. Sampurna-
nand’s Government raised it to the status of a formal

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EDUCATIONAL SET-UP INCLUDING PHYSICAL CULTURE 107

chartered University as Varanaseya Sanskrit Visvavidya-
laya, Varanasi. :

There are twelve private Sanskrit Institutions teaching
upto the Acharya (Post graduate) standard and many others
in Varanasi all affiliated to this University, which conducts
examinations at all the four levels—Prathama (Mid-
dle),Madhyama (Higher Secondary), Shastri (Graduate)
and Acharya (Post-graduate). In all 522 Mahavidyalayas
teacing upto the Acharya stage and 1020 Vidyalayas teach-
ing upto the Higher Secondary or Intermidiate stage are «
affiliated to the Varanaseya Sanskrit Visvavidalaya in
India and Nepal.

Vallabharam Saligram Mehta Sangaveda Vidyalaya

Independently of the Government Sanskrit College
and its successor the Varanaseya Sanskrit Visvavidyalaya,
there is another great Sanskrit College named Sanga Veda
Vidyalaya at Varanasi created and wholly maintained by
the late Vallabharam Mehta and his successors 10 the family.
This institution follows its owa syllabuses and gants
its own certificates. Itis presided over by ne BAe:
Pandit of Varanasl at the present day re i m
Shastri Dravida, who was the first to be oon my
Government with the decoration of baie a =
He is the unquestioned leader of the Pandits yan
represents the best that is 1n Sanskrit culture.

e > n
Persian and Arabic Educatio | “ie,
As has been already observed ee ARE
S s Ae. . :

the only education 1n Varanas befor fter that era
we ddhist education at Sarnath, butatter that cte

apart from Bu 3 ee
eae and Arabic education became necessary.

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108 VARANASI ‘DOWN THE AGES

‘The aims ‘of this ‘education iri India were twofold.
For the Hindus a knowledge of Persian became essential
for getting employment and earning the favowr of ruling
Muslims, as all official activities were now being transacted
in Persian, and as the highest nobility understood no other
language. For the Muslims there was the additional aim
of delving deep into religious mysteries. So far as Varanasi

was concerned only the first aim was predominant,- for the _

Muslim rulers of Varanasi were in small numbers and
needed help in carrying on the administration. The novo-
Muslims who had been converted to Islam on pain of
death took to this education and discarded their original
system with the original religion. In the beginning the
tule was military rule but soon civil administration came
into being and Persian education got into stride. History
tells us of Hindu intellectuals mastering Persian language
and literature and even becoming poets therein.

Details of the curriculum at the earlier stages are not
known but soon after it was practically the sameas it
obtains in the Maktabs today. ‘Teaching of the Quran
and the necessary quantum of Arabic grammar in that

connection was compulsory and Saadi’s Gulistan! and_ g

(1) Local Muslim tradion avers that Haji Mohammad Idris,

Governor of Varanasi in the time of Balban, went to Shiraz and
from there brought with him copies of Gulistan and Bostan and
introduced them in the Maktabs of Varanasi and soon they were
made the text books of Parsjan all over India. The original copy
of Gulistan which he brought was available in the collection of
Khan Bahadur Nawab Ali Khan, Judge at Varanasi in 1848 A. D.
in a very fragile and worm-eaten condition.

(Asar Banaras p: 71)

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EDUCATIONAL SET-UP INCLUDING PHYSICAL CULTURE 109

Bostan were the books with which education ° started
as it does to day.

Later on three. degrees were awarded to scholars viz.
Alim, Fazil and Qabil, depending on the specialised field
of higher education that they had acquired. Learned per-
sons in Philosophy were given the degree of Fazil, those
specialising in theology were called Alim, and those who
excelled in literature were awarded the degree of Qabil,
and these degrees continued to be awarded right up to
quite recent times. .

Women were eligible for education too and they fully
availed themselves of the necessary facilities. In their
case the syllabus was also modified and Tawarikh-i-
Farishta tells us that women were imparted education in
dancing, music, sewing, weaving, velvet-making ete.
as a specialisation. Most of the Queens of the Delhi kings
were educated women, who revelled in literary pastimes.
For the common people there were maktabs galore both
E pi A a maktabs, madrasas Were attached

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practically to all the ae ze Š

j irls in their homes. ;
et Sa Tenia ma ee h de
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intelligentsia over as Wi

rre is
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the Maktabs and at the homes © ue
Learned Hindu scholars were attached to the co

f Kings and noblemen ana- pelee a
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Faizi had learnt Sanskrit at Varanasi 10 ise

a Hindu and translated the Ramayan.

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110 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

responsible for the translation of the Upanishads while

staying here.
: ` Varanasi can also lay claim to have produced learned
scholars in Persian. Sir Syed Ahmad belonged to Varanasi
and wrote his text books in Urdu here. Ghalib too had
reclined here; and then there was that brilliant star Hazin,
who decided to settle down at Varanasi in the eighteenth
century and refused to leave it even to return to his
native land.

Even in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the
court language continued to be Persian and several Persian
scholars graced this illustrious town. ‘There were Pandit
Kashinath Munshi, Molvis Badtudduja, and Safdar Hussain
and two brothers Pandit Sahib Ram Shookle and Ganga-
dhar Shookle, who, though attached to law courts, held
places of honour in Persian literary spheres. MaulanasAli
Jawwad and Ali Azad of the Madrasa Imamia, Rajghat
were recognised as Arabic scholars of all-India fame. So
was Mirza Faiz in Persian, though he came a little later.
Rajab Ali Sarwar was a well known figure in literary circles
of the nineteenth century as a courtier of the Maharaja of
Benares.

There are in Varanasi at present a large number of
Maktabs teaching Persian and Arabic at the elementary
level and several High Schools and Intermediate Colleges
teach Persian andArbic as optional subjects forthe High
School and Intermediate Examinations. The Benares Hindu
University has a full-fledged Persian Department and the
Government of India run an Arabic Institute for higher
studies. There is a Deputy Inspector of Schools attached to
the Deputy Director of Education tolook after the Maktabs
in particular and Persian and Arabic Education in general.

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EDUCATIONAL SET-UP INCLUDING PHYSICAL CULTURE 111
English Education `

Varanasi came under the direct political influence of
the East India Company in the time of Warren Hastings
towards the end of the eighteenth century and though
the law courts continued to function in Persian, Sanskrit
Pandits and Molvis were attached to them for the exposi-
tion of Hindu and Muslim laws: to the European judges.
But because of the very fact that the presiding officer was
an Englishman, people started yearning for English edu-
cation. ‘The first formal institution opened by the East
India Company at Varanasi to teach English and modern
subjects was an English seminary established in 1830 under
the name of Anglo Indian Seminary with Guru Charan
Mittra and Ishwarchandra De as teachers. It became
the Benares GovernmentSchool in 1836, and in course
of time its Headmaster functioned also as the Superinten-
dent of the Sanskrit College and Secretary of the local
Education Committee. In 1844 the English School and
the Sanskrit College were amalgamated into one institution ©
under the name of Benares College and Mr. J. Muir C. S.
was appointed its Principal. Hewas followed by Dr J. R.
Ballantyne L.L.D. and a succession of great Principals.
After the British Crownhad taken over the administration
of India from the East India Company, the College received
Queen’s College. It imparted
education upto the post graduate classes and was affiliated
to the Calcutta University. Later on when the Allahabad
University came into being the College got affiliated to

that body upto the graduate stage, but for sometime con-
tinued to be governed by the Calcutta University for its @
Post graduate studies, after which the Allahabad University Ta

its permanent name as

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i i,

112 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

became the regulating authority upto the highest classes.
Its Principals were great Sanskrit Scholars ‘and oriental-
ists and it had on its staff equally great and able Profes-
sors. It continued functioning in full vigour till it was
beheaded into an Intermediate College, as suggested by
the Hartoge Commision.

There were only two,departments at first into which
studies were classified, the Junior Department and the
Senior Department, the latter being the top class of the
college. There was no restriction as regards the minimum .
and maximum ages. So, brilliant students passed out of the
college at quite. an early age. Attainments in English
wete pretty high and one student, who left the college
after obtaining the Senior Department certificate, Ganesh
Choubey had the whole of Richardson’s Selection of
English Poetry (1619 Pages) by heart and could recite
any poem from anywhere in that voluminous book. [One
need not be surprised at this achievement for memory
training had been the special field of Indians since ancient
times and Isching (7th century) actually saw several per-
sons who could remember texts by hearing them once
only.]| The curriculum was very much diversified and a
student aged 17 years was certified to have read “Besides

` works of general literature, he has read works on History,

-
vanea
> i

the Elements of Physics, Practical Mechanics, Logic,
Rhetoric, Political Economy and Chemistry. He posses-
ses a very good knowledge of Urduand Hindi languages,
and has read most of the Persian works in common use.
In mathematics he has read the Elements of Geometty.
Arithmetic, Algebra, Plane Trigonometry and has com-
menced munsuration, analytical geometry and the
Calculus.” : It may be mentioned incidentally that this

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EDUCATIONAL SET-UP INCLUDING PHYSICAL CULTURE 113

student Kailas Nath Sukul was considered the best stu-
dent of the college and was presented as such to Lord
Dalhousie, Governor General, when he visited the
college in 1854. As we shall see in a later chapter, this
boy also developed into a creditable personality later in
life with extraordinary attainments.

The first English School was opened by Raja Jai Narain
Ghoshal in 1814, to be followed by a Christian Seminary
in 1844 which later became the London Mission High
School and finally the Cutting Memorial High School.
Other schools followed in quick succession. Starting
as a Primary School in 1854, the BengaliTola High School
attained that status in 1871, the Harishchandra High School
(beginning as the Chaukhambha Vidyalaya in 1866)a little
later, the Central Hindu School in 1898 ,the Kshatriya High
School in 1909, and the Theosophical National School and
the Vasant Mahila College in 1913. The D. A. V. High
School and Chintamani Anglo Bengali School, came
soonafter.

Asaresult of educational reorganization all theseschools
became Intermediate colleges and subsequently several of
them added degree classes and became full-fledged degree
colleges. The Central Hindu College, the Harishchandra
Degree College, the D. A. V. Degree College and the
Udai Pratap College thus came into being. Of these the
Central Hindu College gave itselfup to the Benares Hindu
University as its core institution in 1916.

The first Girl’s School was founded by Mrs Annie
Beasant as the Theosophical Girls School, which in course
of time grew into the Vasant Mahila College. Later on
Sri Rohit Mehta opened a full-fledged College for women,

the Vasanta Kanya Mahavidyalaya. There is also the

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114 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Government Intermediate College for girls, and the
Agrawal Samaj Intermediate College for girls too.

Several other schools of the Intermediate College
level have also come into existence and the city of Varanasi
can now boast of 16 Intermediate Colleges and 14 High
Schools for boys and seven Intermediate colleges and
fourteen High Schools for girls. There are, however, 51
Inter Colleges and 21 High Schools for boys and 3 Inter
Colleges and 17 High Schools for girls in the mofussil
in addition.
Educational Administration

Varanasi is the Headquarters of the Varanasi Educa-
tional Region comprising the Districts of Varanasi, Mirza-
pur, Jaunpur, Ghazipur and Ballia, and is presided over
bya Deputy Director of Education. He is assisted by
District Inspectors of Schools and Associate District -
Inspectors for each District. There is also a Deputy
Inspector for Maktabs and Persian and Arabic Education
attached to the Regional Headquarters. Since the take-
over of Primary Education by the Government there is a
Basic Education Officer to look after it in each District.

The Benates Hindu University

The Benares Hindu University was established by an
Act of the Governament of India in 1916 by the special
efforts of Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya,
who had to use all his persuasion to get the Government
agree to its establishment, and when the acthad been passed
the “great Beggar of India” started his begging tour of
the whole India and collected several crores of rupees for
the construction of buildings. It is noteworthy that
subscriptions in this connection ranged from five rupees

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EDUCATIONAL SET-UP INCLUDING PHYSICAL CULTURE 115

of a poor householder to sevefal lacs by individual
Princes. The Maharaja of Benares, Sir Prabhu Narain
Singh donated about thirteen hundred acres of land in
addition to a large amount in cash; and in less than two
years the Campus was sufficiently organised with cons-
tructions to enable classes being started.

Beginning with the Hindu College as the core insti-
tution it has grown into one of the biggest Universities of
the world having fifteen constituent colleges under sever-
al Faculties and over one thousand two hundred tea-
chers, to educate 14000 pupils. It hada Medical College,
which has since grown into an Institute of Medical Sciences
and a Hospital furnished with most modern equipment
and appliances, Sir Sundar Lal Hospital, named after the
Honourable Pandit Sir Sundar Lal, who sat at its birth
as Pandit Malaviya’s right hand man—organizing the great
Pandit’s “Flights of Fancy” into matter-of-fact activity
units. Inthe words of Sir Claude de la Fosse, the then
Director of Public Instruction, “Pandit Malaviya is a flut-
tering mass of papers over which Sir Sunder Lal acts as a
paper-weight.” ive

‘The early history of this unique institution is now being
forgotten and it would be worthwhile to devote a few
paragraphs to it. ; .

The proposal to establish a University at Varanasi,
which would combine modern Education with ancient
Indian Education was first put forward at a meeting held
in the Mint House under the Presidentship of H. H. Maha-
raja Sir Prabhu Narain Singh of Benares in 1904 and 2
Prospectus was circulated in October 1905. It was discus-
sed at a select meeting at the Town Hall on3ist December :
1905 in which educationists and representatives from :

i -
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116 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

almost every part of the country participated. In view of
these discussions a revised Prospectus was drawn up in
1907. About the same time Mrs Annie Besant and the
Maharaja of Darbhanga were separately working for a
University of.their choice being opened at Varanasi. Pt.
Madan Mohan Malaviya, who had taken a vow to de-
vote his life for this cause in 1906 persuaded Mrs Besant
and the Maharaja of Darbhanga to give up their own
schemes and to support Pt. Malaviya’s move.

Miss Beasant and other Trustees of the Central Hindu
College agreed to hand over the college to the B. H. U.
Society, which was registered on 15th December 1911
under Act XXI of 1860, with the Maharaja Sir Rameswat
Singh of Darbhanga as President and Sir Sunder-Lal as
Secretary. An appeal for funds was then made and the
Government of India approached as mentioned earlier.
After a great deal of persuasion Sir Harcourt Butler, the
then Education Member, agreed and the Hindu Univer-
sity Act was passed as Act XVI of 1915. Lord Hardinge,
the then Viceroy and Governor General laid the founda-
tion-stone of the University on the Vasanta Panchami
day in Samvat 1973(February 4, 1916), at a function never
excelled in modern times in the matter of representation
and grandeur. The University started functioning from
the ist October 1917, with the Central Hindu ‘College
as its first constituent College as mentioned earlier. The
Engineering College was the next to start in 1919. The
formal opening ceremony was, however, performed by
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in 1921.

The buildings have all been built on a well thought-out
plan in successive blocks spread out in concentric semi-
circles. Apart from buildings, laboratories, herbarium, and

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EDUCATIONAL SET-UP INCLUDING PHYSICAL CULTURE 117

playing grounds, the University also houses the Bharat
Kala Bhawan, one of the most magnificent Museums of
Paintings and archaeological material in India. It is also
a.storehouse of an enormous amount of material for local
history. There are seventeen Hostels and 1000 residential
quarters for the staff, and in the centre of the Campus
stands the Templeof Viswanath built under the personal
supervision of Seth Jugul Kishor Birla. It is one of the
highest temples in India and has cost over 20 lakh of
rupees. So long as Pt. Malaviya was alive, he lived on the
campus as the first Vice-Chancellor and delivered regular
discoruses on ancient Indian culture; and occasional
lectures of this nature are being often given even now.
There are 15 constituent colleges on the Campus under
the Faculties of Arts, Commerce, Science, Technology,
Agriculture, Music and Fine Arts, Oriental learning,
Theology, and Indology,and several affiliated institutions.
The annual budget of the University runs into crores.

The Kashi Vidyapith

The year 1920 saw a great upheaval in Indian politics and
Mahatma Gandhi, soonafter, started his first Non-coopeta-
tion movement and called on the students of India to boy-
cott the educational institutions being run by the foreign
government or running with government aid; and..to
provide analternative arrangement for education Rashtra-
tatna Babu ShivaPrasadGuptadonated a fabulous amount

for the establishment of the Kashi Vidyapith, which was

inaugurated on 10th Feburary 1921. A gallaxy of great
men gathered there as teachers. AcharyaeNarendradeva

took over as Principal, Babu Sampurnanand, Babu Sri l
Prakash and others worked as teachers. It was a centre —

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1G C: aes VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

of National education with Hindi as the medium of
instruction. The institution had great ideals, which it
tried to inculcate in its alumni.

After Indian Independence in 1947, its importance
grew even greater and recently it has been raised to the
status of a University. It gave India its second Prime
Minister and has given Uttar Pradesh two Chief Ministers,
apart from hundreds of eminent politicians.

Primary Education

It was in June 1845 that the then Lieutt. Governor
of N. W. P. and O. circularised the District Collectors to
take personal interest in the matter of Primary Education
— specially in the villages—and village schools were
opened in consequence thereof. Soon enough Primary
Schools cameinto existence inthe city too bythe improve-
ment of Mahajani ‘Pathshalas and a change in their
syllabi.

The number of Primary Schools in Varanasi is legion
and till recently they were being managed by the local
bodies—the Municipal Corporation in the city and the
District Board in the mofussil, but they have since been
taken over by the government and are now being run by
the Education Department of the U.P. Government.

Libraries

The Sarasvati Bhavan Library attached to the Sanskrit
University is perhaps the proud possessor of the largest
number of manuscripts not only in India but outside also,
the number of which runs into more than a hundred and
fifty thousand, in addition to a respectable collection of
printed books. - |

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EDUCATIONAL SET-UP INCLUDING PHYSICAL CULTURE 119

The Gaekwad Library of the Banaras Hindu University
is also one of the biggest in India. So is the Nagari
Pracharini Sabha Library in the matter of Hindi books
and manuscripts.

Then there is the Carmichael Library—started in 1872

by Babu Sankata Prasad ina rented house under the name —

of City Library. Later on, when its own building was con-
structed with the active help of the Maharaja of Vizia-
nagaram it got its present name in honour of the then
Commissioner of Varanasi. It has more than 50,000 books
on its shelves and old books that are now out of print or
rare can be usually found there, and thus it is of great help
to those who wish to delve deep in researches.

There is also the Goenka Sanskrit Library attached to
the J. M. Goenka Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya at Lalitaghat.
It is a noteworthy institution as it possesses a very large
collection of printed Sanskrit books, even larger than
that of the Sarasvati Bhavan mentioned above, and is
consequently the latter's envy. On its shelves one can
find several hundred commentaries on the Gita alone.

Physical Culture

Varanasi has been famous for its attention to physical
culture since ancient times. In the earliest stages too
the Rishis insisted on the observance of Brahmacharyaand

phyical exercise during the primary stages and onwards. `

Life was vigorous and physical fitness essential for survival.

The Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras had to cultivate

bodily strength. ‘The Mahabharat tells us in detail about
the physical education of the Pandavas. There was special-

lisation in this sphere too and

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of the five Pandava brothers ;
Bhimsen specialised in Malla Yuddha. So did Duryodhana,

120 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

and they received their training from competent teachers.
The latter was a pupil of Balarama— Sri Krishna’s elder
brother, while Bhim of Dronacharya. The latter pupil
proved his power in his duel with Jarasandha, and
ultimately with Duryodhana.

Shri Krishna himself was an athlete and defeated the
Mallas of Kansa’s court. Malla Vidya thus has an ancient
history.

Coming to Varanasi we find mention of a Varanasi
athlete in the Brahma Khand of the Skanda Purana’. He
was Ashoka Datta Vaishya, son of Samudra Datta in the
court of Pratap Mukut. An athlete from South India
once came to the court of this king and issued a challenge
— and he was met and defeated by the Varanasi athlete.

No records are available to tell us about the develop-
ment of this art in Varanasi over the centuries but upto
the end of the last century the number of athletic bodied
individuals in Varanasi was legion. Out of every hundred
young men one met with about ninety were equipped with
well-built muscular bodies, and on questioning would
mention the particular akhara (Gymnasium)where they
took their exercise. Rich and poor, one and all, insisted
on their sons going to some akhara or other regularly, and
most of the Raises of the times themselves had been pupils
at one of these gymnasia, which they continued to patron-

‘ise; and the incidents connected with the athletes —masters

of those akharas-were on every one’s lips. The beautiful
bodies of the Varanasi youth were always a matter of pridé
to their elders and of wonder to, the outsiders. The
Varanasi youth walked about with his head held high and

EE
1. Skand Purana Nrigodha Setu Mahatmya 9-7-13.

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EDUCATIONAL SET-UP INCLUDING PHYSICAL CULTURE 121

his chest forward and did not fight shy of hard work or
exercise. In fact a weakling was treated with such derision
that he felt ashamed of himself and if his age permitted
straightaway took to exercise.

In Varanasi still exist akharas that have been
running for three hundred years and have produced a
steady tale of athletic giants. Some of these akharas
have come to grief andare no longer in existence but the
physical abilities of their alumni are still remembered
with pride.

One such akhara was that of Sotiji. He was a thin
‘wiry person, extremely dark in colour, buthis sinews were
made ofsteel. An incidentin which he was the hero took
place in the seventies ofthelast century—almost a hundred
years ago. His Akhara was situated in Raj Mandir and he
actually pursued a monkey over the roofs of a hundred
houses and ultimately running it down snatched from it
his small pot of magdals. His pupils wereall well-known
athletes of their time and one of his grand pupils Mannu
actually killed a Bengal tiger with a steel rod single handed
and was rewarded for his valour. This was in 1910— and
the writer actually saw his body covered with a hundred
scars inflicted by the tiger. That akhara no longer exists
but the glory that was associated with it still excites praise
in that part of the town. There were hundreds of such
akharas then, and the number of their alumni was legion.
Things have since changed. In those days public fashion
appreciated and gave recognition to well-built bodies.
. They earned public admiration, and the loose-stringed
dandies were looked down upon — they were scoffed and
scorned. So every young boy strove to build a muscular $h
body and attended an akhara. There were competitions-

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122 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

between these latter and that improved the tone of these
institutions.

Varanasi has always been rich in its enjoyment of life
and this was one of the enjoyments—wrestling and exer-
cise. Incourse of time Varanasi imported Malkham from
the South. The correct name is Malla-stambha. which
means an apparatus which provides full opportunity for
learning the art of wrestling. One wrestles with the wooden
pillar and learns the use of all wrestling. intricacies. Use
of Joris or Mugdals (heavy clubs) was a favourite pastime
and rewards were won by merely swinging a pair in the
correct style — and in the case of heavier ones the victor
was allowed to carry away the clubs as. his prize. Then
there was weight-lifting. Circular stones with a diameter
for holding, was the unit for this purpose and was called a
Nal. There were young men who lifted as much as six
to seven maunds. ‘There were also persons who could
lift as much as thirteen to fourteen maunds. The rule of
carrying away the Nal by the victor existed till about
fifty yeats ago and one very often came across a Nal lying
near the victors’ door, inviting as it were, some one tolift
it and take it away.

There were aristocrats, who were athletes too and

they encouraged their children to buildup a body and
a style which would be the envy of the onlooker. Babu

Raghunath Das Johri had a collection of clubs he had won
and so had many others. Any one desirous of swinging
any one of these pairs had merely to goand ask for it and
if he succeeded he was rewarded with sweets and permitted
to take away the pair of clubs. i ;
To get into details, there still exist akharas, which

were founded more than three hundred years ago. There

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EDUCATIONAL SET-UP INCLUDING PHYSICAL CULTURE 123

are four of them well known for their historical existence.
Santram ka Akhara and Nagnath ka Akhara are situated
near Manikarnika ghat, while that of Adhin Singh stands

near Iswargangi and that of Bhangad Bhikshu near Aitarni

Baitarni.

Bakhtawar Giri and Duddhi Maharaj of the Santram
Akhara were famous athletes of their day. The former
of these had a gigantic body to match his strength, while
Duddhi Maharaj could break five cocoanuts with one
blow of his fist—and he fought with the famous Ghulam
Pahalwan for eleven days without being defeated.

Shivanath Singh and Bahadur Singh belonged to Bhan-
gad Bhikshu‘s akhara and were in the court of Maharaja
Chet Singh. They were renowned swordsmen too and
tradition gives them the honour of having slain five hun-
dred soldiers of Mirza Panchu in a pitched battle before
being killed.

The akharas of Kon Bhatta and that at Ramkund.
come next with a history of about two hundred years or
a little less. Kon Bhatta came to Varanasi from the South
and it was he who introduced the Malkham in Varanasi.
His akhara situated near Bibihatia is still famous for its
Malkham activities, while Ramkund akhara continues to
produce noted athletes even now.

Jaggu Seth’s akhara in Ghunghrani Gali was estab-
lished about a hundred years ago, by Jaggu Seth of Mirghat,
and had the privilege of producing Bhavani Shanker
Bajpai, Wahid, and Bhola Singh, who later on established
their own akhatas.

There are in existence more than a hundred akharas 2
in Varanasi even today and they all are doing goodwork 3
in their own way. Of these Pandaji ka Akhara mo

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124 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Bansphatak, Ram Singh’s and Shakur Khalifa’s akharas in
Benia Bagh, and Nandu Singh’s, Swaminath’s and Babua
Pande’s akharas in Assi have earned a fame for themselves.

In this connection mention may also be made of Chaturi
Khalifa’s Akhara at Sarnath, where the presiding athlete
Bhoturam has had the honour of producing two eminent
athletes viz. Bhaiyalal of Balua and Kesari Kumar Singh
of Paharpur, who distinguished themselves in the National
Kusti Competitions heldat Simlaini969.. The former won
a gold medal as a champion and the latter. obtained the
fifth position.: Bhaiyalal aged 23 is also the National Judo
Champion of 1968 and 1969. Inthe same contest Abdul
Matin of Manduadih Akhara won a silver medal.

Another notable athlete of Varanasi, Dina Nath, who
Jater on received special training in Maharashtra won the
mace of Maharashtra’ Keshari. He also captured a gold
medal in the 1969 competitions at Simla.

Of the national stature in wrestling and Judo there are
eight athletes in Varanasi at present, who were recently
given a public reception by the Municipal Corporation of
Varanasi. They are Bhaiyalal, Dudh Nath, Sitaram, Daya
Prasad, Abdul Matin, Bhola Prasad, Mangan Prasad and
Srinath Singh.

As a result of westernisation of outlook among the
younger generation these old fashioned akharas are losing:
their educated alumni, who prefer to attend Vyayama-
shalas, which give instruction, both in the Indian and
European forms ofathletics. Of these the Health Improv-
ing Association of Misirpokhra is perhaps the oldest.
Then there is the famous Kashi Vyayamashala of Raj
Mandir, which not only trains athletes but also gives
training to Physical Culture Instructors recognised by

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EDUCATIONAL SET-UP INCLUDING PHYSICAL CULTURE 125

the U. P. Government. A comparatively young institution
the Jayabharat Vyayamashala of Misirpokhara is consi-
dered by experts as the best of all Vyayameshalas because
it provides training not only in arthletics, both Indian
and foreign, but also in games and sports.

Then there are the Mazdoor Health Improving Centre
at Madanpura, the Benares School of Physical Culture at
Jangambari, the Central Physical Club, and the Jaya Hind `
Vyayamashala at Dasasvamedha, the Benares Athletic
Association at Pandeghat, the Ideal Physical Culture Centre
at Hanumanghat, and a host of other Meye aala
which are done useful work.

There was another institution which provided practice
al experience of fighting aduel of another kind between
two parties of strong bodied persons—each person fight-
ing another of the other side with fists, sometimes
enforced with metal cores held in the closed fist. These
bouts called Mukki contests were. held twice in the
year. The battlefield in one case was the street in front of
Raja Dinkar Rao’s Ram Mandir at Brahmaghat and the
“affray”? took place on the day after the sacred Holi fire
was lit. ‘The other battle was fought on the Durgaghat
bank and was held from Devotthan Ekadashi upto Kartiki
Purnima. ‘They were bitterly fought duels but left no
rancour; and in the earlier years of the last century the.
District authorities, who came to control the riot undera
misapprehension, were left admiring the sportsmanlike
attitude of the fighters—and even of those who were
injured. This institution still continues but the number of
respectable participants in the fight is fast decreasing.

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CHAPTER 6
DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGION AT VARANASI

In addition to its importance as a centre of education,
commerce, and industry and its excellence in art and music,
Varanasi has been famous as acentre of Hindu religion for
at least three thousand years, if not more. In fact for
the last two thousand years its fame has rested more on
religion than on anything else and it has suffered repeated
onslaughts of religious bigotry on this account alone. It is,
therefore, but natural to look deep into this aspect of the
city of Varanasi, and thestate of Kashi, of which ithas been
the capital. Itis also important to make an extensive study
of this matter because quite several misconceptions are
current about the development of religion in this region —
even among the experts.

To begin with, the state of Kashi was inthe occupation
of Non-Aryans when the curtain goes up on the Vedic
Indian scene. This aspect has already been discussed earlier,
and so we have to study the development of religion in this
region from the faith of the Non-Aryans to begin with.

According to the modern view the Non-Aryans, whom
the modern historian calls Dravids but whom the Aryans
called Dasyas, worshipped the mother-goddess under
various names—several of which are still current among the
Sudras and Adivasis. In addition to the mother-goddess
there were many other devatas, who were outside the Vedic
and even Puranic pantheon. Animals and sometimes even
human beings were sacrificed to please these deities, the
mode of their worship being altogether different from that

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DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGION AT VARANASI 127

of the Aryans—as can still be seen among the Adivasis of
Mirzapur District, who are the remnants of the Kashi
Non-Aryans. About some of these the term Shishne-
Deva has been used in the Vedas, signifying that they
wcre some sort of Phallus worshippets.

After the conquest of Kashi by the Aryans and the
founding of the city of Varanasi in thehoary past, at least
four thousand years ago, the non-Aryan Adivasis were
split up into two sections viz, those who ran away into the
mountains and jungles of the Vindhyas, and those who
remained in the cities and were employed as Dasas or
servants. ‘This division of the Adivasis into two units is
important because confusion has been caused in studying
this question by ignoring this fact. So, when the Aryan
Society was established in Kashi there were three groups —
the Aryans, the Adivasis who had fled to the jungles, and
the Adivasis serving the Aryans. Of these the religious
practices of themiddle group remained unaffected and we
can ignore them for purposes of our discussion as they
left Varanasi and are outside our present purview. They
can still be studied in the forests and mountains of the
Vindhyas in Mirzapur District. :

In Varanasi, therefore, there were two distinct units —
-the Aryans, and the servant adivasis called Dasyus or Dasas.
The Aryans followed the Vedic religion and its practices,
which they had brought with them from the Sapta
Saindhavaregionandfor sometime the Dasyus must have
followed their own religious practices, which did not
clash with the views of their Aryan masters. But in course
of time new developments occured. The Aryans conti-
nued their own practices but those of the Dasyus were =
gradually being affected. ; Re

CR ee Om i SR _. S Se ee’
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128 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

To take up this matter in detail, we would see that in
the Aryan fold itself there were two kinds of religious
practices—those followed by the Dwijas i. e. Brahmans,
Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas, who were entittled to study the
Vedas and practice higher forms of religious worship
prescribed for them, and those practised by the Shudras.
Prithvi, Soma, Agni, Vayu, Marut and Parjanya, Varuna,
Dyaus and Ashvineyas, Surya, Savitri, Pushan, Mittra,
Vishnu, Yama, Shraddha, Rudra, and other higher placed
deities were worshipped by the Dwijas by means of Yajnas,
havanas, and other practices in which milk, ghee, and
grain were offered as prasada. Yajna was the predominant
process of worship and fire was preserved for that purpose
and was called the Shrautagni. Animal sacrifice was also
part ofsome Yajnas. The Shudras, who were not entitl-
ed to this higher form of worship had the lower kind of
deities to whom they offered their prayers viz, the
Yakshas, Kinnaras, Yoginis etc. They were not learned
persons and their form of worship too was crude.

Thus in Varanasi of the time there were simultaneously
going on three distinct types of religious practices viz.
those of the (1) Dwijas, (ii) The Shudras, and (iii) those
of the Dasyus, who were following their own religion,
whatever it was. We must remember that the number of
Aryans was small as only some of those who had come in
the campaign of Videgh Mathava had settled down here.
The Dwijas formd an exclusive unit of society while the
Shudras and the Dasyus wer being thrown together
at all times and their contacts were more intimate. This
condition prevailed for several centuries and there were

exchanges of religious rites between these two groups and
in consequence a hybrid religion was created and the

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DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGION AT VARANASI 129

‘ Shudras and the Dasyus followed the practices of this new

teligion. The Dwijas were altogether unaffected by this
change, as there was no room for any religion other than
Vedic for them and there was no process prescribed for
admitting any non-Aryan into the Aryan fold. In course
of time, however, certain Dwijas had to leave the Aryan
fold due to laxity in worship,or sexual and other undesir-
able contacts with the Shudras or Dasyus, and they had

_ ‘to join the latters’ hybrid religion. The number of the
followers of this faith thus continued to grow and in course
` of time it became considerable. There were now only two

forms of religious practices—those of the Dwijas and
those of this new hybrid society of the Shudras and Dasyus.

The development of the Aryan Vedic religion itself
over the centuries may now be considered. Thenames of
the deities they worshipped have been already enumer-
ated above. As time passed the relative importance of
these deities underwent changes, and pairs of them came
to be formed. Thus Mitravaruna, Dyavaprithivi etc. came
to be worshipped together. Classifications which were
not explicit before came to the forefront and we had the
Adityas, the Marutas, the Rudras etc. One all-impartant fact

must be always recognised and remembered that while the

Vedic worship was being offered to these different deities,
there was a clear realisation that there was but one God
and the deities were merely His various manifestations.1

1. (a) era frat Teter g: faat JTTA |

Ua agfa AAT aaraa AH nRT: (HX. ULRIK)

They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, and he is heavenly
nobly-winged Garutman. E 7

To what is one, Sages give many a title; they call it Agni,
Yama, Matarisvan. ([Griffith’s Rigveda vol I p. 292]
9 :

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130 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Belief in re-incarnation accotding to Karma in
previous life orlives,and reward of piety by being pet-
mitted to enjoy the luxuries of Swarga was clearly held
by the Rigvedic Aryans,? and different kinds of Yajnas
were being evolved to achieve specific purposes. It was
-accepted that if a particular Yajna was performed a parti-
cular result was bound to follow. The various Mantras
evoked in the Universe power-currents, which brought
about the desired results. We had in this way a large
vatiety of Yajnas, some simple, others complicated, some
occupying only a few hours, while others taking several
months and years to complete; and to ensure the correct
procedure. “‘Brahmanas” were being simultaneously

—- - wo

(1) (b) of the previous page s page afifi arcfefaceafcaafefantar afat
aga: |
faar afafa: danaf Riaan n (W.A. 218120 )
Aditi is the heaven, Aditi is mid-air, Aditi is the mother and
the sire and son.
Aditi is all gods, Aditi five-classed men, Aditi all that hath
been born and shall be born. [Griffith. p. 150 vol. 1]

(2) a) x@ faqvateaa:...... [mo Fo 20I]
Now let us pay this homage to the Fathers, to them who
passed of old those who followed...| Griffith. Vol. IV p. 130 ]
b) aa agiag [ Æo Fo tol |
The sun receive thine eye, the wind thy Spirit, go as thy

merit is, to earth or heaven.
Go if it be thy lot, into the waters : Go make thine home in
plants, with all the members. [ Griffith Vol. IV-p. 133 ]
c) dase fiat: i aeri
kaaa a atga ngaa: |
[o Fo Rolie]
Meet Yama, meet the Fathers, meet the merit of free or

ordered acts in highest heaven.,
Leave sin and evil, seek anew thy dwelling and bright with
glory wear another body. [ Griffith Vol. IV-p. 129 ]

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DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGION AT VARANASI 131

compiled, which gave clear instructions about the pro-
cedure of the different Yajnas. Ritual was growing and the
average Dwija ran after worldly achievements like wealth,
power, progeny, or at the most Swarga-labha (obtaining
residence in the Swarga and enjoying the luxuries thereof)
with the help of Yajnas, which were still the main form
of worship. But Sadhakas in the line of Vedic Rishis
were not satisfied with these short-lived rewards: they
looked ahead and disapproved of this running after these
temporary benefits for they said “‘thereis always a coming
back even after Swarga-nivas and the old cycle of re-
birth starts afresh. ‘The final goal of human endeavouris
not dharma, artha, and kama. It is moksha, andthe Yajnas
can provide only the first three. One must, therefore,
strive after this final goal.” The words of these seers
when compiled became what we call the Upanishads.
The view promulgated by the Europeans and accept-
ed by some Indian writers that the Upanishads are a re-
action against Vedic ritualsis entirely wrong. The Upani-
- shads definitely insist that Yajanas must be performed but
as part of duty and not for obtaining benefits. The
Chhandogya Upanishad says that there are three bases for
Dharma viz. Yajna, Adhyayana and Dana. 7atadenea
msaa, ( Chhandogya 2.23.1). The Mundaka act-
ually prescribes that when the fire is ablaze the havya
dravya should be respectfully offered to it in between
two offerings of ghee, and it is Mundakat, which has hit
Kamya Yajna the hardest mrema qaare Gated False
amaai: Tage (Ase-VURIR) The Bhagawadgita —
leaves no sort of doubt on this point. It clearly lays
down that Yajna, Dana and Tapas are obligatory, they
are not to be discontinued on any score. [Gita 18-5]

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132 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

| Then some Upanishads are actually portions of the
Brahmanas themselves which are accepted as authorities
j on Yajna-craft and if they were the result of a reaction
they could not have gone with their adversaries—the Brah-
manas. There is the Kaushitaki-Brahmana-Upanished and
the Jaiminiya Upanishad-Brahmana, which names would
be impossible if Brahmans and Upinishads were contradict-
ories—one a reaction against the other. Then the
fourth and sixth chapters of the Aitereya Brahmana them-
selves constitute the Aitereya Upanishad. Besides, not
only are Vedic mantras present as part of Upanishads,
but full significance of the Upanishadic teachings can
not be properly appreciated without reference to Vedic
texts. In fact, it is for this reason that the Unpanishads
have been classified in accordance with the Vedas they
deal with. As Dr. Sampurnanand asserted in his Vidya-
bhavana lectures, the Upanishads are not reactions against
Vedic ritualismbut complementary books to be read with
the Vedic Samhitas. ‘They expound in detail what has
been cryptically said in the mantras.

Here we must remember that the only basis on which
the European writers have based their theory are portions
of Upanishads where Yajnas have been condemned, but
they have missed the point that the condemnation is not
for Yajnas butfor the Kamya yajnas 1.e.those yajnas which
were performed for obtaining the lower benefits, which are
transitary viz.health, wealth, progeny, and even the attain-
ment of residence in Heaven. Says the Mundaka (quoted
above for prescribing how havyadravya is to be respect-
fully offered to the fire in between two offerings of ghee).

gA Aaa aeaa at Aaa fang: -
AA Woo A gaT o slate Maafa it (Mundaka 1-2-10)

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DEVELOPMENT OF .RELIGION AT VARANASI 133
~

‘“Fancying oblations and pious gifts (to lead to) the
highest (object of man) fools do not know anything (as
the cause of the ) good. Having enjoyed (the fruit) of
their work on the high place of Heaven, which they gained
by their actions, they enter again this world or one that
is lower.”

(Translation by Dr. Roer “The Twelve Principal
Upanishads” Vol, I p.149-150)

The fact of the matter has been forcibly clinched bya

mantra of the Rigveda itself, which clearly says that the
singing of the mantras was simultaneous with the
“telling the lore of being” and “the laying down of the
rules of Yajnas”. ‘The mantra (Rigveda X-71-11)
describes four kinds of Rishis. Griffith translates it as
follows -:— |
“One plies his constant task reciting verses;
one sings the holy psalm in Sakvati measures.
One more, the Brahman, tells the lore of being,
and one lays down the rules of Sacrificing.”

(Griffith’s Rigveda Vol. IV p. 245).

Thus in this wantra four varieties of activities going on
simultaneously are described. One Rishi is depicted as
constantly reciting the Vedic verses, the second is described
_as singing the psalm in Sakvari measures, while the third
is mentioned as discussing the philosophical question

‘being’ (that is human existence), and the fourth is laying

down the rules of sacrificing. Thus the third is dealing

with the subject matter of the Upanishads, while

g. wat a: NINA GIST TIA AY TIA TTC |
wane qatar mafai aaer arat fafadta sca: 1

[ Rigveda. 10, 71. 11]

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134 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

poraneously the fourth is fixing the rituals that go for
conducting a Yajna. ‘The European writers say that people
were so fed up with Yajnas and Karmakand that there was
a reaction, while the Rigveda clearly calls them simulta-
neous activities. Could anything be clearer ?

This mantra also upsets the time-table so laboriously
drawn up of placing the Upanishads, quite a thousand
years after the Samhita and interposing the Brahmanas in
between, because all the three activities—Reciting and
singing the psalms, discussing the question of existence,
and laying down the rules of Yajna are described here as
contemporaneous.

That philosophic curiosity had already awakened in
the Rigvedic people is also proved by some Mantras even
in the first wandala of Rigveda. They were already asking
about the centre of the Universe and the beginning of
language, and these questions were being all the time
discussed between the Rishis themselves or were elaborat-
ed and explained to others? — and these discussions and

t qafa Teed qfar: qafa at qareaaha: |
qafat Fl aerate: Testy ara: TH SATA I
[ Rigveda 1-164-34 ].
Griffith translates it as follows :
I ask thee the earth’s extreme limit, where is the centre of the
world, I ask thee.
I ask thee of the Stallion’s seed prolific, I ask thee of the
highest heaven where speech abideth.
[ Griffith’s Rigvede Vol I p 290 ]
2. qaaa ahaha qafa attr fgata à atthe: 1
Tera feagai gåt art ma aafer i
[ Rigveda 1-164-45 ].
Griffith says :
Speech hath been measured out in four divisions, the
Brahmans, who have understanding know these.
Three kept in close concealment cause no motion. Of speech

men speaking only the fourth division.
[ Griffith’s Rigveda Vol I p 292 ]

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DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGION AT VARANASI 135

dissertations have been collected in the Upanishads, which
are mostly in the form of dialogues.

Joy and grief have always been present in human life
and men have always tried to discover some means of remo-
ving grief and enlarging joys. ‘This is true of all religions,
but there have been different definitions of joy and grief.
The ordinary man considers the achievement of health,
wealth, and progeny as the acme of joy and he tries to
obtain these by prayers to his god, which have different
names in different religions. Intellectuals delving deeper
down in the matter, do not consider these mundane
blessings as the end of these prayers. They look up to
something higher. They yearn after Swarga-Nivas (living
in Heaven), or Isvata—Sannidhya (living near God
himself). But there is a third class of thinkers, more
spiritually minded, who seek Moksha—the absorbtion of
the human soul into the Primal Soul.

The first two categories of desires are covered by
Yajnas, but the last needs another approach and that has
been provided by the Upanishads, -which give a.clear
picture of what human aims should be. Inevitably in
an effort to show the superiority of these aims over the
aims of the first two categoties of men, the shortcomings
of those aims have had to be clearly stated and this is ex-
actly what the Upanishads do when they condemn Kamya-
Yajnas i.e. Yajnas performed for the fulfilment of some
desire or the attainment of some blessings—and these con-
demnations have been misunderstood by the European
writers as has been shown above.

The Soul, the world, the primal Soul, their forms and
inter-relations have been the subject matter of the deli-
berations, both intellectualand Yogic, of the wisest among eo

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136 -` VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

men of their times and they have held long discussions
among themselves and have provided answers to questions
on these complicated matters. This has been called the
Jaana-Marga (Way of Wisdom) which made its first popular
appearance in the Upanishads and in course of time blos-
somed forth into the six systems of Hindu Philosophy
viz. Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, and the two
branches of Mimansa. It was as a result of these delibe-
rations that the theories of Reincarnation and re-birth
according to Karma mooted in the Vedas (Samhitas )
. themselves were confirmed and elaborated—and the wise
ultimately reached the conviction that only Brahman is the
reality in this world—the rest is all unreal. za aca sfnar
It was also discovered that absorption of the human
soul into the Brahma or the Primordial Soul, is
possible only through the Jnana-marga and that realisa-
tion of the Brahman is the highest form of happiness and
that this alone is the way to terminate the cycle of rebirth.
This is Moksha ot Mukti(the word salvation is the nearest
approach to the idea but it does not convey its full signifi-
cance). The most advanced and fully developed form of
this view of things has been presented to us in the Uttara-
mimansa in which the principle of agaatz (the doctrine
which affirms that the only reality is Brahman and that
all else is the result of Maya and is unreal) has been achiev-
ed. ‘This is the finale of Vedic teaching and has therefore
been called the Vedanta, and the Rishis — the wisemen —
who had obtained this clear vision of reality belonged to
all parts of India and all the three castes of the Dwijas are
represented in them. In fact the Chhandogya Upanishad
clearly says that formerly Brahma-Vidya was only in pos-
session of the Kshathriyas, who later on taught it to the

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DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGION AT VARANASI 137

Brahmans. Kashiraja Ajatashatru has been actually quot-
ed as correcting the erroneous conception of Brahman as
presented by Gargya Balakit, Raja-Pravahana? of Panchal,
and Asvapati, King of Kekaya, have been described as
giving instruction to Brahmans in Brahma-Vidya.®

There were two cities of philosophical learning in
northern India viz. Kashi and Mithila. The former was
ruled by the philosopher king Ajatashatru and the latter
by Jiwanmukta Janaka. We may, therefore, safely pre-
sume that these two centres of enlightenment were respon-
sible for changes, which came about in the Vedic religion
atthat time. Speaking about the state of religion about
800 B. C. we find that inspite ofall that has been said
above the Gyan-marga was the cynosure of the intellect-

` uals and the wise only, while the Vedic religion as practised

by the common man was still dominated by Karmakanda
and rituals, Yajnas and Havanas. Yoga, specially the
Hatha Yoga, had also infiltrated into the common form
of religious worship. This was in the line of the Yogic
achievements of the Vedic Rishis, but in the hands of the

common man it had lost its great heights and touched

but the circumference of Yogic practices, There was no
dearth of religious feeling but religious practice had be-
come more of a routine than a living throbbing spiritual
process. The common man was so obsessed with the

present life that he was not able to concentrate on the

esoteric personalities of the Vedic Devatas like Indra or

1. Kaushitaki Brahmana Upanishad 4-19 and Brahadaranyaka
Upanishad 2-1-15.

2. Chhandogya Upanishad 5-3-7.

3, Shatapatha Brahmana 10-6-1-2.

138 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Varuna, or Pushan. He needed something concrete.
This condition had already been reached before the time
ofthe Mahabharata War(1400-1200 B. C.) when Sri Krishna
introduced the worship of natural Pratikas, like Govar-
dhana in place of the old routine. Images of Indra and
others were already being worshipped in the conduct of
the Yajnas and this provided the necessary cue for the
changes which resulted in the formulation of the present-
day Hindu religion.
Jainism
‘Tt was at this stage that Jainism appeared on the scene
“as a reformative movement. Sometime in the eighth
centry B.C. Parsvanath was born at Vatanasi. He was
the son of Kashiraja Ashvasena and Varanasi was the main
theatre of his religious efforts. It was he who gave us
the three wabavratas viz. Ahimsa (non-violence), Asteya
(non-stealing), and aparigraba (non-accumulation). Later
on in the sixth century B. C., when Mahavira (599 B. C.- `
527 B. C.) activated this movement, Varanasi could not
be ignored, and recieved its due share of Jaina indoctri-
nation. Some people specially among the Vaishyas of
Varanasi accepted it, but the majority of people remained
unaffected and continued their own unruffled way of life.

Buddhism

In Mahavira’s lifetime was born Buddha in a_ royal
family following the Vedic faith, and his earliest efforts
at finding ‘Peace’ were made in accordance with the then
prevailing form of Vedic worship as practised in Magadha
(present Behar), which as Buddha himself says was devoid
of religious feeling and merely followed a routine in which
Hatha-yoga hada predominant place. Buddha himself

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DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGION AT VARANASI 139

made intensive and extensive effort at attaining Shanti
(the word Peace is only an approximation and does not
convey the full purport of the Sanskrit word). He under-
took fasts and penances till he was reduced to a skeleton
and followed all the methods prescribed in the Vedic
religion of his time as prevalent in Magadha but to no purt-
pose. He then abjured those methods and took to medi-
tation — long meditation — at Gaya — far from the haunts of
religious teachers. This was in the line of the Upani-
shadic Rishis of old, though apparently unknown to him,
and at last he saw light. .

This light he tried to share with his countrymen at
large and thus came to preach his own view of worship —
the way by which he had himself found Shanti. This was the
beginning of what later on came to be called the Buddhist
religion. So far as Buddha himself was concerned he
did not try to formulate a philosophical groundwork
for his teachings; and studied inhis own words, they are
not inimical to any religion. His teachings as contained
in the ‘Tripitak’? are mainly concerned with J adachara.
They are mostly ethical and his greatest emphasis is on
correct behaviour in thought and deed. He abjures ex-
tremes of any kind. ‘Follow the middle course’ is his
cry. According to him worship is absolutely necessary
because spirtiual intelligence is not awakened without
it, but Hathayogais injurious and should be forsaken,
because by the emaciation of the body intelligence too is

emaciated (‘This factis clearly stated in Chhandogya Upani-

shad also 6.7.1-6). Ethical behaviour (qatar) and worship —

have been stated to be the cornerstones of religious life
everywhere. In order to get rid of worldly pain, Buddha —

has prescribed the again a (asi ant) the way

Fa Dee

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140 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

with eight facets of behaviour. If these are carefully
followed human misery can come to an end, because they
_ purify the ďa: (inner intelligence) and provide Juana,
the ultimate wisdom. If we consider all these eight
steps in detail, we find that they are but eight steps for the
purification of the inner intelligence, and that none of them
is in any way opposed to the Vedic ideas of behaviour.
This was Buddha’s own position as revealed by his own
words collected in the Tripitaka. But later on as the new
thesis developed and was philosophised, it took a form
which was not covered fully by the eight steps alone.
There was no mention in it of a God or of the Soul. This
was an essential difference with the Vedic religion and on
this basis alone Buddhism was considered to be a new
religion and not merely a reformatory movement.

After enlightenment Buddha decided to preach his
first sermon at Isipattan (modern Sarnath) near Varanasi,
which is considered as one of the most holy places by the
Buddhists. Buddha’s personal halo produced immediate
results. Yasha a son of a wealthy merchant of Varanasi
and several of his friends became Buddha’s disciples.
` Their number soon grew to 60 and with these he organised
the Buddhist Sangha and directed them “to carry the
message of this noble path” all over the world. Soon
afterwards Bimbisar, the Magadha Emperor, became his
disciple and thus Buddhism got royal support and spread
rapidly. At first Sarnath was the centre of Buddhist religi-
ous activity but with its royalacceptance it was transferred
to Rajagtiha, the then Capital of the Magadha Kings. Later
on, Buddha created a bigger Sangha of 500pupils and pre-
scribed ten rules for them. As time passed—specially after
the Parinitvana of Buddha—different interpretations were

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DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGION AT VARANASI 141

placed on these ten commandments, resulting in the forma-
tion of several sects, which formulated their own philo-
sophies and even clashed with oneanother. At first
as mentioned above, Buddhism spread like wildfire under
the Royal support, which it enjoyed for three or four
centuries. It travelled to Ceylon, China, Tibet, and
Japan, but as soon as the Royal support was lost with the
rise of the Shungas as Emperors, it started a downward
march. ‘The Shungas themselves were very tolerant kings
and did nothing to suppress Buddhism, but they gave no
active support to it and the popular mind did not find that
satisfaction in its philosophy, which it discovered in the
Vedic view of life, and the number of the followers of
Buddha’s religion started diminishing. It made another
short-lived spurt during the Kushan rule, and later on even
though the Gupta Emperors and Harshavardhan were
sympathetic towards it, this new religion languished
in the land of its- birth, although it continued to flourish
in countries where it had gone from India, and flourishes
even today in a form not always reconcilable with
Buddha’s own teachings.

There was another important factor responsible for this
rejection of the new faith by the Indian intelligentsia. Be-
fore the advent of Jainism and Buddhism, all religious
doubts arose in the minds of the faithful Hindus and so it
was easy forthe learned men to remove them. The entire
Upanishad literature is full of such doubts and their re-
moval, but now that these two new religions were in the
forefront to challege the beliefs and values of the Vedic faith
and to attack themand condemn them, it became necessary
to find suitable answers for these challenges and con- =
demnations. ‘Thus it became inevitable to organise the

rr w

142 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Brahma-Vijnana in such a systematic form as to be able to
refute these attacks with authoritative exposition of
the Vedic view. The six systems of Vedic philosophy
mentioned earlier are the direct result of this effort. The
highest authorities on the subject enunciated the doctrines
in a systematic form complete in all details. This
process started in the sixth century B.C. and continued for
about four hundred years. The Sutras on these subjects
were produced in that period and once the knowledge of
these various aspects of philosophical thought was avail-
able in a compact and concrete form, scholars well-versed
in them were produced in large numbers throughout the
country, who engaged in disputations with their Buddhist
counterparts and defeated them or were themselves de-
feated. Both these results had immenseinfluence on thepo-
pular mind, defeats prodding to greater efforts, and victor-
ies enhancing the prestige of the Vedic faith in the public
eye. This was the main cause of the decline of Jainism
and Buddhism in India. l
As has been mentioned earlier Varanasi was one of
the two centres of philosophical thought those days and its
importance in the development of this militant attitude
of the Vedic scholars can be safely accepted. ‘These
discussions and debates between the two sets of scholars
continued for a thousand years and moreand inthe eighth
century A.D. the then Buddhist scholars could not
stand the arguments and brilliant advocacy of Shankar-
acharya and Kumarila Bhatta and their influence onthe
public -mind practically came to an end, although
their institutions and monasteries continued to exist
and those who decided to follow their religion were
left in peace as is evident from the accounts given by

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DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGION AT VARANASI 143

Fahian, Huentsang and Itsing in the fifth to seventh
centuries A.D.

It has to be emphasised in this connection that this
religious conflict carried on for more than a thousand
years was entirely intellectual. There was no place for
any kind of physical force or compulsion anywhere.

Writing about these disputations Havell says “the methods —

of the Inquisition, and the argument of the sword and
stake never became popular with Hindu religious teachers.
Whatever may be urged against the Hindu system, it must
be admitted that it has always stood for absolute liberty
of conscience. One religious movement after another
has swept over Indian soil, but until the Mohammadan
conquest it was never considered justifiable, and necessary
to suppress the voice of the preacher and the arguments
of the philosopher with torture, bloodshed, or judicial
murder.” [Benares the Sacred City by E. B. Havell.
p-/].

ie these disputations and debates were in progress
and the philosophers of the different schools were preach-
ing their doctrines to the intellegentsia the system of
worship practised by the common men was also under-
going change. As mentioned earlier ste mT (worship
of concrete symbols) had already been emphasised
before the Mahabharata War by Sri Krishna. That
tradition continued, as the votary found it much easier and
spiritually more profitable to focus his mind on an image
than on mere abstractions. In the image before him he was

able to feel the presence of his God andthe aura of divinity —

around him. ‘The Vedas had already been functionally
divided in the Brahmanas (2000-1400 B. C.) and during

the socalled Upanishad period (1200-800B.C.) Vishnu and ;

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144 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Siva had already become the two great gods, but the Havana
was still the predominant mode of worship. Concrete
form of worship was now available in the line of the Vedic
images of Indra, which were prescribed in the perform-
ance of Yajnas since the Rigvedic times, and as mentioned
earlier the common man needed a cocrete Pratika to
worship. The qała ga (worship of five deities) was thus
evolved into its present shape—and even there distinct-
ion was available to suit the capacity of the worship-
per. The more intelligent ones, and Brahmans ranked
foremost in this matter in those days, needed but mere
emblems and worshipped merely the Shalagram, the Nar-
madeswara, the Swarnamakshika, the Sphatika and the red
stone. All these were rounded by natural ptocesses in
the various rivers and lakes. ‘Those who needed greater
help to visualise the deities, had images in human and
Superhuman shapes, but care was taken in devising
these images to so arrange their atms as to form the Vedic
Onkar—Om. Havana was still considered to be an essen-
tial item in all elaborate worship but its importance had
declined. It now came at the end to round off the
finishing ceremonies. This was the period when the Smriti
literature was formulating the details of religious theory
and practice as prevalent at the time.

Formal Yajnas were still being performed. ‘The
Shungas, the Vakatakas, and even Samudra Gupta per-
formed the Ashvamedha (Hotse-Sacrifice) but after the
fourth or fifth century A. D. these formal Yajnas became
rare. Although smaller ones are performed even today on
special occasions. Varanasi has, however, kept up an
unbroken line of various Yajnas. Those performed in
the distant past have been forgotten but a list of those

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1. am (Gift to Brahmans or other poor pcople); efter arar

DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGION AT VARANASI 145

performed during the nineteenth and the present centuries
is available and will be found -as an appendix. At this
stage ala, daarat, dei and garda! came to the fore
as means of special worship. ‘The pilgrimage of Emperor
Harsha to Prayaga and his distribution of all his gold
and valuables there are elaborately described in historical
accounts of his time—and this tradition still continues.

When Shankaracharya reorganised the Vedic Hindu
Religion, pilgrimages and donations formed its more im-
portant parts in addition to the worship of deities—
and by this time most of the. Tirthas were already
provided with concrete images and places of worship,

and in those which lacked in this respect Shankaracharya ~

himself consecrated properimages. In addition, he esta-
blished the four Dhams—at four corners of India--Ram-
esvara, Dwarka, Jagannath and Badarinath. He founded
mathas inthelastthreeplaces and a fourth at Shtingeri in
Mysore. ‘The presiding Sanyasins at these places are called
Shankaracharyas and their place inthe Hindu view can be
compared to that of the Pope among the Christians.

- There is also the fifth Kanchi Kamakoti Matha of Kanji-

varam to which Shankaracharya himself belonged.

After the times of Shankaracharya (eighth century)
there has been practically no change in the form of wor-
ship or religious belief of the Vedic Hindu. He worships
his concrete Pratika deities, mostly the Panchayatana,
petforms the five Mahayajnas prescribed in the Smritis,

(pilgrimages to holy places), alae (Bathing in sacred streams

of ponds or wells); ariq (Devaarchana — worshipping ae :

Pratikas of deities).
10

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146 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

is regular in his Sandhyopasana, recites sacred literature

in praise of his God, offers wq aa and tia’, and
undertakes pilgrimages and offers donations according
to his powers and his purse. This form of religious wort-
ship has now been called the Sanatana Dharma instead
of retaining its original name of Vedic religion because
that name has been appropriated by the Arya Samaja.

The elaborate description given above covers the de-
velopment of Vedic religion down the ages as practised
by the Dwijas. It is equally necessary to cast an eye on
the development of the religion followed by the Shudras
and Dasyus. It has already been said that in consequence
of the constant association of these two classes a hybrid
religion had resulted, which comprised the worship of
lower deities of the Vedic pantheon and those of the
original non-Aryan cult. So long as the Vedic religion
retained its old form with Yajnas and Havana as the main
media of worship the Shudras and Dasyas continued with
their erstwhile forms of worship, but when the Pratika
Pujana started with the worship of Govardhan, and later
developed into regular image-worship, the method
of worship of this group of Hindus also fell in line with the
Dwija worship and took to the worship of the other deities
of the Hindu faith including Shiva and Vishnu, but in their
own humble way, and in addition to the worship of the
deities (like Yakshas, mother goddess etc.) they had been
worshipping for thousands of years. Among these the
Yakshas have been responsible for an erroneous assess-
ment by the European scholars and their Indian followers.

: 1. Japayajna (Repetition of name or sacred mantras), Kirtana

(Singing the praise of the Lord).

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DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGION AT VARANASI 147

They seem to assert that Yaksha worship was widespread
in India — specially at Varanasi — implying that most of the
people, including the Dwijas, worshipped the Yakshas.
This view is absolutely wrong. The Yakshas were ex-
tensively worshipped no doubt but they were worshipped
only by the Shudras, which term now included the Dasyas.
too. The Dwijas continued to worship the Vedic deities.
Exactly the same condition obtains today — the Shudras
still worshipping the Yakshas and other deities of the
aboriginal faith in addition to the Vedic gods. There
was greater prevalence of Yaksha worship when Buddhism
Was at its height in India, perhaps because the neo-Buddh-
ists had brought it with them into their new faith and a
continuation of this got them included in the Buddhist
pantheon—where their number is legion.

Shakti Worship—A new religous movement made its
appearance in India in the fifth and sixth centuries A. D.
This was an emphasis on worship of Shakti - the goddess.
The worship of Shakti had been present since the times
of the Rigveda — wherein thereis a whole section in praise
of the goddess—the Devi-Sukta, but greater emphasis
was now laid on her worship and quite several functional
forms of the goddess were elaborated and their form of
worship prescribed in detail. ‘The followers of this cult
were of two kinds—those who followed the Vedic form
of worship even in this case and others who evolved _
a new line, which has since been called the Tantric wor-
ship. It is quite possible that the importance of oie
worship in the Buddhist religion prevalent all over n :
at the time had brought about this last development.
was in the time of Shankaracharya him
movement was bifurcated into two

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self that the Shakta 2
distinct divisions

148 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

known as the Dakshina Marga and the Vama Marga. In
the eighth and ninth centuries this movement spread all
over Northern India but gradually the Dakshina Marga
i.e. Vedic form of Shakti worship, prevailed and the
Vama Marga of Tantric worship dwindled — although
quite a large number: of families continue the latter
even now.

Shaiva Darshana—After the reorganisation of the
Vedic religion by Shankaracharya there were several
important elaborations of the Vedanta School of
Philosophy. Among these the Shaiva-darshan which
sprouted and flourished in Kashmir may be considered
to be the earliest and most important. |

Vaishnava Datshanas—Subsequently Ramanujacharya
(Born 1037 A. D.) in the eleventh, Nimbarkacharya in the
twelfth and Madhvachatya in the thirteenth centuries
developed their own thesis within the fold of Vaishnava
Dharma and founded their own sects. Towards the end of
the fifteenth century, however, a great exponent of the
Vaishnava Dharma appeared on the scene in the person of
Vallabhachatya, who provided the Shuddhadvaita view
of Vedanta, and whose followers today number in millions.
Of all the various sects connected withthe Vaishnava
Vedanta movement this last sect in not only numerous
but is also progressively moving forward.

Having so far discussed the developments in the Vedic
religion over four thousand years we may now point out
the place of Varanasi in these developments.

The place of Varanasi in the development of the
Brahma-Vidya in the Upanishad period has been already .
referred to eatlier—which earned for the city the name
Brahma-Vardhana(Brahma-Vaddhan) when its Kshatttiya

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DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGION AT VARANASI 149 —

King Ajatasatru taught Brahma-Vidya to the Brahman
savant Gargya Balaki. Later, by the time of the present
version of the Mahabharata, which has been differently
placed by scholars between 500 and 800 B.C., Varanasi
had already attained the status of a Dharma-Kshetra. Val-
miki had already written a verse in praise of Varanasi
though incidentally.

(Itis preferable to be born and die and suffer these
troubles in Varanasi rather than be born elsewhere and
rule as aking with elaborate fanning by the damsels.)

AIT TATA ASae: aeaa an a oreo aT
arene athe qiTa: I

This status was also recognised by Buddha himself
when he decided to preach:his first sermon at Sarnath near
Varanasi. As times advanced the religious importance
of this city continued to grow and the Bharasiva Kings
decided to perform their all the ten Horse-Sacrifices in
Varanasi itself near the Dasaswamedha ghat, where a
hundred and fifty years ago there existed a stone horse
marking the place of the event and the name Ghora-ghat
still carries with it the memory of that stone horse. Yet
later, Shankaracharya, who had mastered the Brahma-
Vidya in the south found real light at Varanasi from
the lips of Siva himself in the form of a Chandala, who
showed him the difference between the & and tei—(the
perishable body and the immortal soul within it.). ‘Yet
later,Shakta traditions flourished in full glory at Varanasi
and have left us the vatious temples of Shakti as a legacy
deeply cherished by the Hindus not of this town alone but
by Hindus from all over India. Then there 1s the worship

of Vishnu and Shiva in its highest glory- Almost all the es
promulgators of the different Vaishnava sects came to

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150 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Varanasi and established their monasteries and temples.
Vallabhacharya stayed at Varanasi for years and died
here. The number of his followers here is very large
indeed and there is a very important chair of succession
of this great exponent of Vedanta at the local Gopala
Mandir, occupied by a succession of learned and
pious men. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries
Ramanand and Kabir expounded their views and founded
their own sects of followers at Varanasi, where people in
general listened to their noble words, specially the homilies
of Kabir, and appreciated them, but continued to follow
their own creed. Kabir’s outspoken criticism was never
misunderstood on the whole yet it was ignored in practical
life of the Varanasi people, but when Vallabhacharya
offered his theses of Vishuddhadvaita, which he did
while living at Varanasi, it was listened to respectfully
and found many followers. His commentaries on the
Gita and Badarayana’s Brahma Sutras were actually
written at Varanasi.

At this stage there appeared a discordant note in the
Hindu religion. The Vaishnavas and the Shaivas started
an aggressive differentiation, and not only preached against
each other but even used derogatory language in their ,
attacks. This antagonism was very virulent in South
India, where one was to prefer being killed by an angry
elephant rather than take shelter in the temple of the other
creed. The Northern India too was not free from this
controversy but it was less offensive and it was left for the
great saint poet Tulsidas to bring about moderation and
peace by his famous writings, which are too well known to
need description here. He is also responsible for providing
to the common man an authoritative and well-developed

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‘

DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGION AT VARANASI 151

system of behaviour in life through his famous book Ram
Charit Manas. About his saintliness there will be a
further reference later on.

Towards the end of the third quarter of the last century
anew exposition of the Vedas was attempted by Swami
Dayanand Saraswati. In doing so the authority of the
Brahmanas, Upanishads, and Puranas was ignored and they
were not accepted alongside with the Vedic Samhitas,
although in the courseof his discussions at Varanasi held
in 1869 he accepted the authority of—some Upanishads,
the six complementry Vedic Sciences, the Mahabharata,
the Ramayana, the Sutras,and the Manusmriti, but further
added that wherever there is a clash of opinion between
them and the Vedas (as interpreted by him) these authorities
would not be acceptable. Thus he rejected the authority
of all but the Samhitas to suit his convenience. The
movement he initiated has been called the Arya Samaj
movement and it made a great stir at the time. The
Swamiji came to Varanasi and there was a fullscale
disputation (gneat#), which unfortunately tested more
on the question of authoritativeness of the Puranas than
anything else, the ultimate question being whether the
word Purana, as used in the Chhandogya Upanishad “fara
aaa Hat fae aT EAs Fawr agaaa aga fa
grt: gerry” was a substantive or an adjective. The point
became complicated because the Swamiji quoted the last
portion of the sentence as afia Jum: thus making Purana F
an adjective qualifying Itihasa. Really the original version
is the accepted version. Yet later the authority of the ITT-
aTem(Satpath Brahmana) was produced, which ordains that
` Puranas are to be recited on the ninth day of the Ashwa-
medha Yajna. At this stage the discussion terminated. —

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152 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

It isnot for this book to decide or declare who won in the
discussion! but what is important from the point of
view of this book is that Swami Dayananda’s thesis did
not find favour in Varanasi and he returned hence empty-
handed. There were no conversions on this basis and
Arya Samaj movement was an utter failure at Varanasi
at the time, though later on the Arya Samaj opened its.
branch hereand started working, specially among the Non-
Brahman Dvijas.

Muslim Invasion

In the above discussion the conquest of Varanasi-
by the Muslims in 1194 A. D. has been skipped over to
provide a continuous narration of the influence of various
religious movements originating in India on the Vedic
religion in general and on Varanasi in particular. The

Islamic invasion of Varanasi may now be considered in
full detail.

Nialtagin was the first to overrun Varanasi in 1034
A.D., but he came for purposes of plundering the city
only and was here for only a few hours. Mahmud of
Ghazni, however, had already attacked several places in
westetn India, where in addition to plunder, the main
purpose was the destruction of Hindu temples and en-
hancement of the Islamic Religion. He had proudly
declared at Somnath that he was an Idol-breaker not an

1, There was later on a written discussicn ketween Raja Shiva
Prasad and Swamiji, in which Dr. Thibaut of the Govt. Sanskrit
College was made the adjudicator by the consent of both the
parties, but his decree went against the Swamiji—in as much as he
, authoritatively asserted that the Brahmanas could not be treated
at a level inferior to the Sambitas.

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DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGION AT VARANASI 153

Idol-seller. In the course of these attacks there was the set
pattern of general massacre of the Hindus -the aaa
—the only way to escape which was to accept Islam. This
was an altogether new situation for India, as so far force
had never been used in religious matters. Mahmud’s last

invasion took place in 1024 A. D. and for ten years there- _

after there was peace, but in 1034 or 1035 A. D. his sister’s
son Syed Salar Masaud started from Ghazni with an army and
a body of his followers and proceeded towards Gonda and
Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh via Ajmer, Multan, Delhi, Meerut,
‘Garhmuktesvara, Deoband and Kannauj. Before reaching
Bahraich he was opposed by Raja Suhridhwaja or Sohal
Deva and killed. The main purpose of this attack was
teligious: conversion rather than conquest. While on his
-way to Bahraich he dispatched a portion of his retinue
and army under one of his commanders Malik Afzal Alavi
towards Varanasi. ‘This army of the Muslims succeeded
in reaching as‘ far as‘the outskirts of the town—almost
upto the boundary wall of the tity. There was then a
great fight, in which the entire invading army was
annihilated. ‘The scene of this fight has béen recognised
to be the place where the mosque now called Masjid-i-
Ganj-i-Shahidan stands near the Kashi Railway Station.

Incidentally this mosque was entirely covered over with —

earth and was accidentally discovered in connection with

the railway station buildings. The soldiers of the Muslim —

army had been killed, but what was to become of the

«civilians, women and children, who accompanied them,
they were permitted to

and in the true Hindu tradition see
‘settle down in the forest area towards the north of t e€
town. Later on when another Muslim army under

- Qutubuddin Aibak conquered the city and Muslim rule was

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154 . VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

established, the locality where these muslim citizens had
been permitted to live was named Alvi-pura after Alvi
their leader, a name which it retains even now.

These earlier Muslimsettlers lived peacefully for over a
century and more and some of them even took service
with the Varanasi Kings.

After Jaichandra, the King of Varanasi and Kannauj,
had been killed, Mohammad Ghori’s army under his
Commander-in-chief Qutubuddin Aibak attacked Varanasi
in 1194and conquered it. Thefort was razedto the ground
and there was the usual massacre and conversions. In
addition to these, a thousand temples were demolished, the
town was plundered, and 1400 camel-load of gold and silver
and jewels was forwarded to Ghori at Delhi. Subsequently
Ghori left India after placing Qutubuddin Aibak on the
throne of Delhi as the first Muslim King of India; but
Varanasi once again shook off the Muslim yoke and had
to be reconquered in 1197 A. D., after which a Muslim
Governor was appointed, who ruled over the city ruth-
lessly and tried his best to remove idolatry from here
(Illiot’s History of India 2. 222-224). This was a most diffi-
cult time for the Hindus and their religion. All the
temples of Varanasi lay in ruins and remained so for long
years. A large number of Hindus were converted to
Islam on pain of death. But this new religious onslaught
‘had no effect on the Hindu religion as such—rather it
strengthened the religious feeling of the Hindu residents
of Varanasi. Gradually the tension eased and by 1296
A.D. the temples had again risen from the dust and
their golden pinnacles were once again shining.
Alauddin Khilji was now on the throne of Delhi and in
the beginning of his reign he did not interfere with

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DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGION AT VARANASI 155

Varanasi. This is evidenced by the fact that two grand tem-
ples were built in 1302 A.D.—one of Padmesvara near the
gate of the Visvesvara temple and the other that of Mani-
karnikesvara at the Manikarnika ghat. Vincent Smith has,
however, hinted in his History that the Varanasi temples
earned his wrath later on—but actually in what year it is
not possible to say. One fact, however, can be asserted
that the process of converting Hindus to Islam by force
had continued forall these hundred years and more. After -
Allauddin’s death in 1316 A.D. the rigours of administra-
tion seem to have slackened and the temples demolished
under the Imperial wrath of Alauddin were reconstructed,
but the sites of a large number of them had to be
changed as we shall later on see. ‘There is no clear evi-
dence of the iconoclastic zeal of the Tughlaqs at Varanasi
but in 1376 A. D. Firoz Shah started the construction of
the Atala Mosque at Jaunpur after demolishing the temple
of Atala Devi there, and if a templeat Jaunpur was de-
molished it is but reasonable to suppose that those at Va-
tanasi could have hardly escaped (Fuherer—P. 181).
There is one more important fact connected with this king’s
reign which has its own story to tell. His representative
at- Varanasi was vigorously constructing quite a large
Number of mosques at the site of and with the material
Obtained from demolished Hindu temples. Obviously
these temples had first been pulled down. This marked
the third general destruction of temples at Varanasi. The
famous Arhai-Kangara-Mosque, the Chaukhambha -
mosque, and the mosque at Golaghat and many others
in the Alaipura (Alavipura) ward belong to this period,
and almost the entire building scheme at Bakaria Kund
was also constructed at the same time.

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156 VARANASI .DOWN THE AGES

In 1393 was established the Shirqi Kingdom at Jaun-
pur and the Shirqis not only completed the Atala Mosque
begun by Firoz Tughlaq but built several others—all with
stones from demolished temples—the stones as seen today
ranging from the fifth century to 14th century A. D.
as is evidenced by the Padmesvara inscription in the
Lal-Durwaza Mosque and on the basis of several stone
pillars of the Gupta period that are being used as stools
in the mosque gardens. The presence of the Padmesvara
stone at Jaunpur proves that the stones of Varanasi temples
already demolished by Firoz Tughlaq were carried to
Jaunpur for the construction of these mosques. After
the end of the Shirqi tule at Jaunpur, Varanasi had a little
breathing time and its temples were builtagain—butnot in
their full glory. The Hindus of Varanasi had by now
realised that it was useless to build beautiful temples, for
who knew when another iconoclastic storm would butst;
and they were right, for in 1496 A. D. the first thing that
Sikandar Lodi did on ascending the throne was to order
a wholesale demolition of all Hindu temples at Varanasi.
The Hindus of Varanasi now gave up the attempt of
re-building their shrines and they remained in ruins
for eighty nine years. There was no Visvesvara temple or
that of any other deity at Varanasi during this period and
the people had to be content with paying their homage
to the ruins. (Vide Tristhalisetu of Bhatta Narayana—
1580 A. D.)

In 1585 A. D. the temple of Visvesvara and that of
Bindu Madhava were built on a grand scale through the
intercession of Raja Todarmal and the Maharaja of Amber
with Emperor Akbar, at the instance of Bhatta Narayana.
Who knew at the time that these beautiful temples.

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DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGION AT VARANASI 157

were not destined to last even a hundred years! In 1658
A. D. Aurangzeb ascended the throne and in 1659 A.D.
he ordered the demolition of the famous temple of Kritti-
vasesvara (Not Kirtivisvesvara as misunderstood by several
‘European writers and others) situated in Daranagar
locality in the heart of the city and the construction of a
mosque at its site. ‘This was a solitary case of iconoclasm,,
in the first ten years of that Emperor’s rule, but in 1662
A. D. orders came forth to the king’s officers at Varanasi
to demolish the temple of Visvesvara and that of Bindu-
madhava—and of course all the other important ones—and
to build mosques on the sites thereof. ‘Thus three mosques:
were erected under the Imperial orders.

(1) The present Gyan Vapi mosque on the site of the
Visvesvara temple.

(2) The present Dharahata mosque at Panchaganga
Ghat in place of the Bindumadhava temple—having the
two lofty minars so famous with the visitor, who could go
up them and see the whole town lying beneath him.

(3) ‘The Alamgiri mosque at Daranagar in place of the
Krittivasesvara temple having the following inscription :
SJenh——plyrt] ypa] pled KP 9 9 5153
However, these iconoclastic storms originating from.
Sikandar Lodi and Autangzeb had absolutely no effect

on the religious feeling of the Hindus. In fact they fur-

ther strengthened their will to be steadfast in their religious
faith and rites; and in this connection the writings of the
Acharyas and Poets of the Bhakti-school not only kept up:
but even strengthened the religious feelings of the Hindus
all over India—but specially at Varanasi, and quite a large
portion of this literature was produced at Varanasi, as we
have already seen.

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158 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

The famous poet Tulsidas had completed his famous
Ram Charit Manas and written several of his other books
at Varanasi—and he had installed a Shivalingam and
twenty four icons of Hanuman while living here—the

famous Sankatmochan being one of them.

After the death of Aurangzeb the muslim rule started
tottering and the rise of the Maratha power too had its
restraining influence on the Delhi and Oudh rulers. Vara-
nasi thus had no further religious tyrannies to face after
1708 A. D., when Aurangzeb died. In 1738 A. D. Vara-
nasi had once again its own master, Maharaja Balwant
Singh and restoration and re-erection of temples started
with great enthusiasm. Most of the important temples
‘were built on a moderately grand scale and Maharani
Ahalya Bai of Indore and Rani Bhavani of Nator in Bengal
spent lavishly in this connection. Then the other Maha-
zatha princes and the Peshwas had their own share of
temple-restoration and re-erection, and most of the im-
portant temples of Varanasi today owe their grandeur to
these noble men. It was also these’ great sons of Hin-
‘duism, who embellished Varanasi by the construction of
the world famous Varanasi ghats.

As has been said earlier there was no religious effect
‘on the Hindu faith as a result of the muslim invasion of
India, but the five hundred years between 1194 and 1708
A. D. were very difficult years for the Hindus everywhere
and specially in Varanasi. The Vedic learning in Varanasi
‘declined and in the earlier centuries of this period learned
men fled from Varanasi to the South or took refuge in
emote villages, and the music of Vedic recitation was
almost silent in this centre of Vedic learning. In the
‘sixteenth century, however, some learned Pandits of

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DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGION AT VARANASI 159:

Maharashtra and Karnatak came over to Varanasi to pass
their last days in this holy city, and they revived the study
of the Vedas here once again, and after 1735 A. D.
Varanasi had once again its old glory of Vedic learning
completely revived.

These muslim invasions did not succeed in doing any
particular harm to the Hindu religion as such, but quite
a sizable number of Hindus were converted to Islam and

their progeny reached the figure of several crores. There

has been one more effect. Thousands of lower caste Hindus.
joined the worship of Muslim graves for the fulfilment
of their mundane desires like wealth, health, or progeny..
Although they are staunch Hindus in all other respects
they have taken to these as additional and special worship:
for special needs.

The conservative Hindu religion (amaa q4) knew
of no process to re-convert the Hindus converted to other
religions. It was a tolerant religion, which blessed every
other religion, and so those who had been converted into
Islam to save their life could not be reclaimed to their
original faith. All the branches of the Hindu religion had
accepted this position, but the Arya Samaj founded by:
Swami Dayanand did not agree with this view and started.
a reclamation movement; but it was rather late in the day.

In the last century the Hindu religion had to face an-

other attack, which was peaceful but being based on eco-

nomic factors proved quite effective. Christian missions.
started their work of proselytization. ‘The Baptist Society
started work at Varanasi in 1816, the Church Missionary
Society in 1817, and the London Missionary Society in

1820. In 1867 the Zenana Bible and Medical Mission andin
1878 the Wesleyan Missionary Society tookup work here.

160 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Their usual means of approach were through hospitals

and schools and in 1909 they ran 8 Boys Schools and 18
Girls schools. These missions have not succeeded in
effecting Hindu religious thought as such but many poor
Hindus belonging generally to the lower strata of society,
specially the scheduled castes, have been converted to Chri-
stianity, although their number has not been as large as
was expected. In 93 years only 800 Hindus were converted.

The last century saw one more extremely important
event. It was Macaulay’s decision to substitute Persian
Education by English Education. As this latter provided
easy Opportunities for service, young menrushed to
the English Schools and Colleges—and be it said to the
credit of these institutions and the application of the Indian
youth that they mastered that foreign language with such
great credit that some of them, of whom at least one was
the product of the Quecn’s College Varanasi, had it said
about them “It is difficult to believe that English-is not
your mother tongue” (Sir Michael Keene). The effect of
this education, however, has been disastrous in the long
run on the Indian view of life. The spiritual outlook (not
always religious) has been yielding place to materialistic
_ ideas; and even after Independence, the educated Indian
youth remains so effectively Europeanised that he does
not feel that pride in his own cultural tradition that he
should naturally feel. What the Muslims could not achieve
in six hundred years of their rule even with the help of the
sword, and what the Christian Missions could not effect
in their hundred years of effort, Macaulay’s policy has
brought about with one stroke of the pen. But even
“ here Varanasi is an exception. The Varanasi boy or girl,
educated or otherwise, still retains his or her spiritual

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a
oR
>$-
+

DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGION AT VARANASI 161

outlook and both young and old, men and women, of
Varanasi still look up to Visvanath for inspiration. Several
lacs of people go to the Ganges every morning and pay
their homage to some temple on the return-journey home.

One word more about Varanasi religion. It is generally
said that Varanasi has been the centre’ of Siva-worship
after supplanting the Yaksha-worship. This has been
already refuted in foregoing paragraphs, where it has been
asserted that Siva-worship (by the Dvijas) existed along
with Yaksha worship (by the Shudras). But this does not
mean that Siva worship prevailed in Varanasi in the earliest
times. It has been clearly stated in Puranic literature that
Varanasi was a. Vaishnava Kshetra before becoming a
Saiva stronghold and it is consequently necessary to wor-
ship Vishnu along with Siva. In fact it was considered
necessary for a person to worship Vishnu’s icon in the
Mukti Mandap of Visvesvara’s temple before Visvesvara
would. accept his own worship.

The real concept of the Shiva Lingam.

A grave misconception leading to an enormous error
has crept into the view of experts in regard to the Shiva
Lingam by imagining that it is connected with some
sort of phallus worship, and this error must be corrected
before they are able to appreciate properly the entire
scheme of things connected therewith, The Rigvedic
Aryans actually derided and treated with contempt some

non-Aryan people who worshipped the phallus—and called

them Shishne-devas (persons who treated the Phallus as

a deity). How could the same Aryans worship the symbol

of phallus themselves ? It is thus the height of absurdity

to consider the Shivalingam as such.
11 ees

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162 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Besides the Agni Purana (fifth century) and other
books on iconography clearly indicate that the lingam
tepresents the Trinity i. e. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
In fact they have given exact instructions for the con-
struction of three different portions in the Shivalingam in
three different shapes. ‘They have also indicated their re-
lative location. The Agnipurana clearly says, ‘The lingam
should extend progressively in the Brahma and Vishnu
portions. That for Brahma should be fout sided, that for
Vishnu eight, sixteen, thirty two, or sixtyfour sided,
and that for Shiva should be round. (Agnipurana 53.
3—5). This is in regard to the shape. In regard to the
vertical location it says “from the foot upto the knees
Should be Brahma’s portion, from the knees upto the
navel it should be Vishnu’s portion and from the navel
upto the top of the head should be Shiva’s portion. The
portions assigned to Brahma is buried in the ground,
that for Vishnu is within the Pithika, and that for Shiva
is above the Pithika.” The Devata-murti-Prakaranam
says the same thing even mote tersely (Devata mutti-
Prakaranam—Baroda Edition Ch. 6 Shloka 83, p. 113).
_ Could anything be clearer ? And yet there is this pre-
posterous misconception.

[Devtamurti Prakaranam 6-83 p. 113 Baroda Edition of 1958. ]

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CHAPTER 7
VARANASI’S RELIGIOUS SET-UP

Thete is no mention of Varanasi as a civic unit in
ancient Hindu literature. It has invariably been dealt

with as the Dharma-Kshetra (religious unit) known as ©

Varanasi, and it would be worthwhile to ascertain the
exact significance of the geographical units in describing
it. There are four names used in Puranas in this connec-
tion viz. Kashi, Varanasi, Avimukta, and Antargriha,
and every one of them has definite boundaries. Thus :

1) Originally Kashi was bounded by a circle with a
radius of about ten miles—from Madhyamesvara to Dehli-
Vinayak, but consequent.on political conquests of its east-
ern and northern portions, it has been now reduced to a
conch-shaped unit about 5 Kroshas (one Krosha=4000
yds.) eastand west and about 23 Kroshas north and south.
It is this geographical unit which is now circumambulated
in the Panch-kroshi pilgrimage.

2) Varanasi is situated approximately between the
Varana and the Asi on the North and South and Pashapant
Ganesh on the west and the Ganges on the east. Hast and
west its length is about 4 to 5 miles and north and south
it tapers and is therefore about 5 miles in the west and

about a mile in its narrow part near the Rajghat plateau. `

(Matsyapurana).
3) Avimukta has been treated differently by different

authorities. Thus Lingapurana and the Skanda Purana put
down its boundary roughly equal to that of Varanasi,

i.e. one Krosh on all sides of Krittivasesvara or

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164 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Madhyamesvara but the Padma Purana defines it as the
area 400 yards on all the sides of Visvesvara.

4) Visvesvara’s Antargriha lies between Manikatnik-

esvara in the east and Gokarnesvara in the west, and
between Bharabhutesvara in the north and Brahmesvara
in the south.
Apart fromthese4 divisions lying one within the other,
there is yet another called Trikantaka. It stands for the
triangular area lying between Madhyamesvara, Swarlines-
vata and Avimuktesvara. |

There are also two other Antargrihas—those of Kedar-
esvata and Onkatesvara. The former of these runs south
of Visvesvara’s and the latter to the north of it. ‘The
southern limit of the former is Lolarka and the northern
boundary of the latter is the river Varana.

In all religious ceremonies some more epithets invaria-
bly accompany Varanasi viz Anandvana and Gaurimukha
which evidently refer to the Matsya Purana and Devi
Bhagavat texts. There is another epithet also invariably
accompanying Varanasi and that is Mahashmashana, (the
super-cremation ground). Matsyapurana gives the
reáson that at the time of Pralaya, when creation comes
to an end, Siva destroys and later re-creates the
world from Varanasi. In this context Matsyapurana
equates it with the Avimukta-kshetra, synonymous with
Varanasi.

Varanasi Temples and Tirthas

Accotding to the Kashi-Khanda-—the socalled grand
directory of Varanasi—the number of temples and titthas
in Varanasi is as follows :—

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VARANASI’S RELIGIOUS SET-UP 165

a) Temples dedicated to. — b) Tirthas

1) Shiva 513 1) Sthala Tirthas 5
2) Vishnu 49 2) Pillars ; 2
3) Devi 75 3) Caves 2
4) Vinayaka 71 4) Ponds and Lakes 151
5) Skanda 3 5) Wells ` 23
6) Surya 13 6) Vapis 6
7) Bhairava 11 7) Along the Ganga 99
8) Vetala l 1 ——
9) Yoginis | 64 288 -
10) Siva Ganas 8 ) ——
11) Nagas 3
811

Grand Total 1099
Obviously all of these are not of equal importance
and the old Linga Purana quoted in Kritya Kalpataru

enumerates 462 as most important, while Kashi Khand
puts down the number at 383.

A grave misconception has been created here by
Sherring in his book (Benares the City Illustrious, p. 47)
' by saying that the number of temples has been steadily
rising in Benares—implying that new temples are being
built to which ancient importance is being fraudulently
attached. He quoted the number of temples in his day as
1654, while it was 1000 in Princep’s day. This cuehas been
taken up by Ayyangar in his introduction to the Tirtha
Vivechana Kandam of Kritya Kalpataru, (p. lxxii), and
finally by Dr. Moti Chandra in his Hindi History of
Kashi ( aa a1 gge ). .

Both these latter writers have made the awful mistake

of accepting the list given in Kritya Kalpataru as the total

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166 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

list of Varanasi Tirthas, whereas actually it is clearly stated
there that it is a list of only most important ones.

“There are hundreds and thousands of other Siva
Lingas which have not been mentioned here because
of their numbers. These are the most sacred Sivalingas,
wells, lakes, Vapis, rivers and ponds, which I have des-
cribed to you. Among these those that are most impor-
tant I have told you.” Says the Linga Purana.

Notonly this. Fourteen localities have been specifically
mentioned as places where there are a large number of
Shivalingas not mentioned in this list (See pp. 46, 47,
63, 66, 70, 71, 72, 82, 93, 97. 102, 105 and 117 of Tirtha
Vivechana Kandam of Kritya Kalpa.Taru : Gaekwud
Series.). —

Kashi-Khand too enumerates the important tirthas
in its 97th Chapter. If one were to compare the two
lists one would find that instead of increasing, the number
has actually decreased. There were 462 (Not 340-350
as the critics say) in the Kritya Kalpataru and there are
only 382 in the’ Kashi-Khand.

Let us now consider these criticisms separately author-
wise. Sherring asserts that although the Pandits have told
him that Ganesha is worshipped at fifty six places there
is a Ganesha icon in every temple. Obviously he is con-
fusing the modern icons withancient icons. ‘The same is

1. seats ofa feria aaa ager: |
THAT att Mat agaa: I
arfa aiena aT: Gat Barer |
amataga AAT Tt RaT: tt
aot Het g À avo war A ATTA |
MAT ET F. T. T. T. ?R0-?3?

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VARANASI’S RELIGIOUS SET-UP 167

true when Princep talks of 1000 temples in Varanasi.
There is no doubt that the number of temples is rising and
I am sure if a census were taken‘today there will be found
over three thousand temples in Varanasi, but no one has
ever said that all of them are ancient and sacred temples.
It is considered a very pious deed to build a temple in
Varanasi and every one, who can afford it, does build one.
Thus the number of temples increases all the time but it is
wrong to suggest that the number of sacred temples is on
the increase and that new temples have been added and
given old names as has been suggested by the writers men-
tioned above. ‘The Kashi Ka Itihas has even added other
charges against the Hindu population of Varanasi and its
great scholars during the 12th to 16th centuries. It is
actually libellous when it accuses Bhatta Narayan (writer
of Tristhali Setu) and Mittra Misra (writer of Vira-mitro-
daya) of giving names of temples built in the fourteenth,
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, as ancient and sacred ones,
because they have done absolutely nothing*of the kind.
They have not mentioned even one temple which was
not mentioned in the Kashi-Khand or Kritya Kalpataru.
These historians forget that Padmesvara or even Karna-
meru (builtby Karna Chedi—one time king of Varanasi)—
two of the most splendid temples of their time — have found
no mention in Puranic records and even in religious essays

like Tristhali Setu and Vira-mitrodaya, and but for the -

existence of Padmeswar stone-inscription and discovery
of the copperplate about Karnameru no one would have
ever known of their existence from sacred writings.
When temples built by kings did not find a place
in the sacred list it is preposterous to suggest that
people deliberately set about building new temples and

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168 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Spuriously passing «them on as old and mythological
ones.

Apart from this, the army of Qutubuddin Aibak des-
troyed one thousand temples in Varanasi—collected there-
from gold, silver and jewellery and sent the whole lot on
1400 camels to Mohammad Ghori. If there were only
three hundred and fifty temples in Varanasi in the time of
Gahadwals how did these additional six hundred and
fifty temples become available to the Muslim army to
demolish ? Surely they did not themselves build these
temples in order to complete their quota of 1000 and then

_ demolish them! Incidentally the number of temples and

titthas mentioned in the Kritya Kalpataru is not 350.
Actually there is a mention of 462 #irthas out of which only
-65 are Jala-Tirthas i.e. Wells, Vapis, Hridas, Kundas etc.,
thus leaving 397 temples.

It is evident, therefore, that the list in the Kritya-Kalpa- _

taru is not an exhaustive list but that it is a selective list
of only the most sacred tirthas and temples. In fact the

_ socalled expanded list given in the whole of Kashi Khand

is not quite exhaustive either, as has been proved by archaeo-
logical evidence. Of the fourteen seals of temples dis-
covered in the Rajghat excavations at Varanasi as many
as nine find no mention in the Kritya Kalpataru
and six of them have not been enumerated even in the
much maligned Kashi-Khand. ‘Then the temple of Tri-
lochan does not find a place in Kritya Kalpataru even.
though a copper-plate of Maharaja Govind Chandra proves
its existence in his day—and Kritya Kalpataru was com-
posed in the latter’s reign by his own Prime Minister. Then

there are two names in another copper-plate of the same _

king viz. Laudesvara and Indra Madhava, which have not

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™e.

VARANASI’S RELIGIOUS SET-UP” 169

been included in either of the above lists. The question
now arises whether these nine plus three temples were in
existence before the Kritya Kalpataru and were notinclud-
ed in the list because they were unimportant or for same
other relevant reason, or were they innovations of
the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries. If the answer is
what it inevitably has to be that they were in existence
but were not mentioned in the Kritya Kalpataru for one
reason or another, it will have to be accepted that the
Kritya Kalpataru list is not exhaustive but only selective.

Continuing the same accusation they mention by way
of illustration that in the Kritya Kalpataru there is mention

of (1) only one Aditya—Lolarka, (ti) only five Vinayakas -

and (iii) there is no mention of Gyan Vapi, Mangala Gauri,
Bhavani, Shultankesvar, and Kala Bhairava, imply-
ing thereby that they were all “invented” after the twelfth
century. Let us look into these accusations a little closely.

(a) If the twelve Adityas were “invented” after the
Muslim occupation of Varanasi as suggested by these his-
torians, none but a congenital idiot would have placed
Uttararka (one of these so called newly invented twelve)
in the heart of the muslim occupied part of the city, where
it would have been impossible during the thirteenth to the
fifteenth centuries even to go with religious intentions
much less to consecrate a new deity there and build a temple
thereon. It was the same locality where a duplicate tomb
of Syed Salar Masud Ghazi stands and where mosques
built on the site of dozens of Hindu temples and tombs
of important Muslim governors of Varanasi can
still be seen. ‘This clearly proves that Uttararka the Sun-

god was not invented in the centuries after Muslim

occupation but that his temple was one of the thousand |

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170 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

that were demolished in 1194 A.D. and that it
could neither be re-consecrated at: the spot nor was
important enough to be re-established elsewhere. The
same is true of Khakholka Aditya, Arunaditya, Keshava-
ditya and Sumantvaditya (which is the thirteenth and has
not been mentioned by the critics because of their ignorance
of the Kashi Khand itself). All these latter Adityas are
also situated in localities where the Muslim Governors
of Varanasi had their residence in those days, and where
it was impossible to build new temples or even worship
the old ones which lay in ruins. In fact the important
deities in these localities had to be reconsecrated in Hindu
localities away from their original sites out of the eye of
the Muslim rulers. The absurdity of the statement that
they were placed there in the thirteenth century needs no
further evidence.

2) Looking at the list of 56 Vinayakas, some similar
situation holds true in the case of some of them. Kharva
Vinayaka and Rajputra Vinayaka are situated in the demo-
lished Rajghat Fort and Pranava, Vatada, Modakapriya and

- Uddanda Munda Vinayakas are again situated in localities

in full occupation of the Muslims during the 13th to 16th
: centuries. Incidentally Kritya Kalpataru mentions 9
Vinayakas and not five and Kashi-Khand enumerates
seventy oneand not fifty sixas mentioned by the historians.

3) In regard to the other innovations suggested,
Gyan Vapi, Mangalagauri and Bhavani are not only men-
tioned but fully described in the Kritya Kalpataru but
without names or under different names. Thus Mangala-
gauri is Lalita (pp. 94-95 K. K. T.), Gyana Vapi is fully
described without a name (pp. 109-110) Bhavani and
Bhavanisvara are mentioned in their correct locality without

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VARANASI‘S RELIGIOUS SET-UP 171

aname “awa teat air taledt a faced: | aRar atg aaa Asis
gepfaatau:”. (Kritya Kalpataru p. 113).

Shulatankesvara is not mentioned but He is one of the
sixtyeight Shivlingas from outside Varanasi, whose symbols
were consecrated in Varanasi—and these are not men-
tioned by Kritya Kalpataru except in one or two cases.
His case is exactly like Trilochan, who also is an immigrant
in Varanasi and whose namé as mentioned above is not
included.in the Kritya Kalpataru.

In regard to Kala Bhairava, Bhairavesvara is mentioned
in Kritya Kalpataru and two localities of the Kala Bhairava
- are mentioned in the Kashi Khanda. ‘The first is on the
banks of the Kapala Mochan. Tirtha and the second the
present locality near the Bhairavesvara temple. In des-
cribing the first and the original locality after describing the
whole incident of the creation of Bhairava by Shiva and the
sticking of the Brahma’s Kapala to his hand and ultimately
its fall at the Kapala Mochana Tirtha, it is said that (faa:
aus MARRARA EA AAC: aA aeni ATA TAT
(Kashi-Khand 31/37-123). <Brahma’s very troublesome
head sticking to Mahadeva’s hand (of course ¥@ea in
the form of Bhairava) did notleave it while moving all over
the world but it fell down in a moment at Kashi” and then

it is said that Bhairava (now free from the sticking head)

took his residence facing the Kapala Mochana Tirtha
rni dt geeecat g A | aaa seal Battal AATA-
afm] The Kritya Kalpataru says : FASA TA
aay feaa | mate aR aa eaea aa aR N TICE E ATTA
ieia afea | “There is the Kapala Mochan world-
famous Tirtha by bathing wherein the Kapala (Brahma’s

head) fell down there. In that Tirtha I am established.

as Kapalesvara.’ So, it is also a case of the same deity.

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172 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

being described in Kfitya Kalpataru under a different
name.

The other names mentioned in the list of accusations
given earlier are those of Vidara Narasimha,Gopi Govinda,
Lakshmi Nrisimha, and Kino Varaha. All these are Vishnu:
temples and Kritya Kalpataru is quoting from the Linga
Purana, which mentions Shivalingas only, the other deities
find place there only according to the geographical needs
of locating the sites of Shivalingas and thus only one
Vishnu Pitha has been mentioned there. Bindu Madhava’s
name is also absent there and even the critics have not
called this latter deity as an innovation.

A similar observation in regard to the Manikarnika
Kunda may be mentioned. It is said that though Kritya
Kalpataru mentions its name “it does not emphasise its
importance, so that it was of no comsequrence in the 12th
century. The Agni and Matsya Puranas do not even men-
tion it.” So it was “invented” in the sixth century A. D.
(Kashi Ka Itihas, p.95). What can be Said in reply to
such a curious statement! ‘The Matsya Purana not only
- Mentions Manikarnika but calls it as the holiest tirtha of
Varanasi, and Kashi Ka Itihas accepts Matsya Purana as
that of the fifth century A. D.

“att Ca are faeaarrarearay |
RRR, Gera: - Rare fargurea: 3
Tait g aaor tead aforafiraT 1 [ART Fo teig]

There are quite several similar statements throughout
the Kashi Ka Itihas on all of which it is not possible to
waste efforts here, ‘Enough specimens have been pro-
vided above. ‘There is, however, one more accusation
against the P as of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
viz. that they have discovered new purposes (ster)

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VARANASI’S. RELIGIOUS SET-UP 173

for old tirthas. (K. K. I. p. 170). The Kashi-Khand
definitely came into being before the end of the fourteenth
century because it was accepted as an authority in 1440
when it was translated into Telegu by Srinath-(Ayyangar's
Introduction to Kritya Kalpataru p. Ixxiv). So the attack
seems to be directed against the Kashi Rahasya of the
‘Brahma Vaivarta Purana—but that book has been exten-
sively quoted by Bhatta Narayana in his Tristhali Setu
(1580 A. D.). So it could not be a sixteenth century book.
However, in this book it is said that nine Usharas, seven
Puris, nine forests and hills, which are holy, and all the
tirthas live in Varanasi to increase their potency in their
own localities (araft Teta, 231% and eR: 2s). So one need
not go out of Kashi for pilgrimage to other tirthas or
deva-temples outside Kashi (%31%%). It seems that the
attack is against these statements—implying that the pre-
sence of other tirthas in Varanasi was “invented” in the
Gfteenth and sixteenth centuries. But what are the facts.

i) The Matsya Purana—(fifth century as accepted by
K. K. I).

pai a AT digri IARAM | XE

qafi a faair aaae Aa fiA I

aa À fda art FATT: RG

aiena sort AA gad |

aiea Tey fret afafeatta TU 3? LAR REAR RP
and later : : ;

(ii) aaa At Tat aitanta: [AKA LOVIN]
Then again | si

1. The Kalanjar forest, the Shankukarna and the Sthalervara
all these are sacred because of their being in my presence every day
at Varanasi. All the sacred places in the world are present at Avimu- —

ktervara’s feet every day.
2. The Seven Bhuvanas, and the Meru mountaln all are here.

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174 . VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

(iii) Akara a fafa data a a |
adaa ataa rataa: [aea cY]!
The last couplet of the first and the third quotation in full
are actually given in the Kritya Kalpataru (pp. 16 and 26).
Then there are two more quotations in the Kri tya
Kalpataru itself on the subject.

0 arfrareattr gafa erara ae gaS |
maataan agata a | [RE.g.a.F. fiq. 30]?
(il) aama saena sor ITATTA | |
ante data Seah eats gT AAT |
dafas Aia aga
aidaa a nar afeareata sferfesan: [forge gag. q. 33]
After perusing these quotations specially the last line
of the last quotation one cannot accuse the Kashi Rahasya
to have “invented” the story. The only crime of the
latter seems to be that it has given the detailed location
of the Sapta-puris in Varanasi. And even there it cannot be
accused of originality because some of these localities `
are actually implicitly or explicitly stated in Kritya Kalpa-
taru itself.
The Kashi Rahasya places Ujjaini exactly where Kritya
Kalpataru places its presiding deity Mahakalesvara (p. 75).

Kritya Kalpataru also places Nagesvara the presiding deity
ee Ee

1. On the earth and in the sky whatever sacred Tirthas are
there, tkey all exist in Avimukta In all their power.
2. Whatever other places are sacred to me on earth, they all
live in Kashi near me. [Skanda Purana, Kritya Kalpataru p- 37]
3. .Oh muni, I will tell you another way to obtain Gyana (divine
uae 2 All a different Tirthas which I have described in the
yoma lantra, Avimukta s i i
eae ae ae them all ( in sanctity ). I have

[Linga Purana, Kritya Kalpataru p. 33]

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VARANASI’S RELIGIOUS SET-UP 175

of Daru Vana in the same locality Daranagar, which latter
name has actually been derived from Daru Vana and
not from Dara Shikoh, who never lived there, or had any-
thing to do with it.

uaea aoaea Tad (Kritya Kalpataru, p. 78).

There is also archaeological evidence to support Kashi
Rahasya, which places Mathura near Bakaria Kund, because
it was from this very pond that Krishna's Govardhandhati
icon of the Gupta period was resuscitated and can be seen
in the Bharat Kala Bhavan in all its glory.

Important Temples of Varanasi .

It is not possible to fix any priorities in the matter of
sanctity of the various temples as priorities have varied
at different times, but there is no doubt that Visvesvatra
is considered the most important deity at Varanasi today.
He is also the holiest of the holy. Things were different
in the twelfth century, for then Avimuktesvara was the
holiest of the holy. Later on when the present version of
the Kashi Khand was compiled Avimuktesvara had lost
his pre-eminence altogether and Visvesvata had become all
in allin Varanasi. He was then not only all important but
also the holiest of the holy, and this phenomenal change
in status has been explained by the present day historians
as the rise of the “Visvesvara cult”.

Actually, however, no new cult had arisen, but certain
unusual events had brought about this change in status.
As has been said earlier the Puranas do not-say anything
about the city and its affairs. They are content with
speaking about the Dharmakshetra only. So the old
Linga Purana said nothing about the pre-eminence of
Visvesvara in the popular view of things. It was content

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2. see 2% Ls Se Se

a . VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

to say in 3 lines that there was another sacred lingam
called the Visesvara, worshipped by all the gods, by visiting
whom the Pashupata Vrata becomes fruitful (Kritya
Kalpataru p. 93).

This description gives a very inferior status to Visve-
svara for the same Putana devotes ten times more space to
Vriddhakalesvara, Viresvara and Avimuktesvara. Looking
merely at this description one would naturally conclude
that Visvesvara’s was a very ordinarylingam. Actually,
however, things were very different. His temple was the
most splendid and the most frequented. It was situated on:
a high mound and was surrounded by shops and was the
scene of dramas and dances, and a haunt of dancing girls,
and actors—and all other people who could provide this sort
of entertainment. This description is available in a book
written by Damodar Gupta, the Minister of the Kashmir
King Jayapida between 779 and 813 A.D. The book was
written to warn Princes of the dangers besetting their
getting interested in women-touts, who led them to danc-
ing girls and thus brought about their ruin. The name
given to the book is appropriate in this context. It is
KKuttanimatam. In this book the author takes the Ujjain
Prince to Varanasi, where he visits the temple of Siva
[The name given is Vrishabhadhwaja but as the portion of
the city on the otherside of the Varana river, where the
deity of that name is wotshipped, was already in ruins this
name is merely a name for Shiva], and the description of
5 Toe aes provides us with the information

- ihe crowd that surrounded the temple

—— - ee

PTT SICH CUTE Tet marta
for faaara adad afer 11
oT TST ote ANYIRA | (F. F. T. q. 82)

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VARANASI’S RELIGIOUS SET-UP 177

abounded in prostitutes, women-touts, actors and instru-
mentalists who accompanied the dancing girls. After
worshipping the deity the Prince also took his seat in the
midst of these people, and persons of the above description
became attentive towards him. The merchants of the
locality offered him betels and scents. The above desctip-
tion supplies the key to our riddle. It shows that this
temple was the most popular in the public eye at the time
even outside Varanasi as far as Kashmir. Dancing girls
and persons of that affiliation still live in that locality
in hundreds and it is one of the red-light areas of the
town. ‘There is also one important custom among these
dancing girls which confirms the above view. Even
today all the Hindu dancing girls of Varanasi go to the
Adivisvesvara temple once in the year on a fixed day and
dance there the whole night free of charge on pain of
excommunication from their own society. The Adi-
visvesvara temple is situated within a few yards of the
original site of Visvesvara’s fane, and only a wall divides

it from the mosque, which stands there—Razia’s mosque.

This temple was built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh of
Amber, who was a persona grata with the Moghal Emperors,
as a memorial to the original site of Visvesvara’s temple
and was, therefore, called Adi-Visvesvara, the prefix Adi

denoting that this was the site of the original Visvesvara -

temple. Since there was another duly consecrated Vis-
vesvata temple already in existence this name was quite
appropriate. Tradition says that the Argha (the ovoid
seat on which the Shiva-lingam rests) of this temple is the
one which belonged to the Visvesvara of the Gyan Vapi
temple, which the Maharaja obtained by the Moghal King’s
favour.
12

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ae NTT Boy’. A es ods

178 > VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

To revert to the importance of the Visvesvara’s
temple, its greatness is also established by the fact that
Maharaja Govind Chandra did actually worship this deity
as is proved by one of his extant copper plates. There
is another point to prove that this was considered to be
the most important temple of the city in the 12th and 13th
centuries by the Muslim authorities governing the town
at that time—for when Razia Sultana wanted to build a
mosque on the site of a demolished temple in Varanasi,
it was this temple which was chosen for the purpose. It
is a well known fact that on such occasions of display of
power and religious animosity sites of the most important
temples alone have been utilised. (Babar built his mosque
on the site of the Janmasthan temple at Ayodhya and
Aurangzeb on the site of the Janmasthan temple at
Mathura, and also on the sites of three most important
temples at Varanasi as has been shown already).

There is yet another point to prove that not only at
Varanasi but also all over India Visvesvara was considered
the most important deity at Varanasi. When Jaziya was
imposed on the pilgrims visiting Varanasi, a Hoysala King
of Carnatak, Nrisimha IIT, donated in 1279 A.D. a village
with a revenue of 645 Nishkas, to provide money for the
payment of this tax by the residents of Carnataka, Telen-
gana, Talvi, Tithut and Gauda countries, and for the
worship of Visvesvara.2 Similarly about the same time

Seth Vastupal of Gujrat sent a lac of rupees for the worship
of Visvesvara.3

1. Vide Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal XXXI P. 123.

2. Vide his copperplate grat i i i
grant No. 298. Epigraphia Carnatica
Vol XV pp. 71-73. Bee

3. Dr Motichandra’s Kasi ka Itihas p. 190.

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VARANASI’S RELIGIOUS SET-UP 179

The all round popular importance of Visvesvara thus
established, his sudden jump into religious importance
also has now to be accounted for. As has been said earlier
all the temples of Varanasi were demolished in 1194 A. D.
and lay in ruins for several decades. ‘There could be no
reconstruction for the local Muslim officers were vigilant
and uncompromising. It was during these decades that
Razia’s mosque was built on the site of Visvesvara temple
between 1236 and 1240 A.D. Subsequently, when these
officers grew a little softer, the temples were re-built at
their original sites, but there was a snag in the case
of Visvesvara. The original site was blocked by the
mosque built under Imperial orders. It became, therefore,
imperative to choose some other site for it. It could not
be transferred to a distant place for obvious reasons. So
space was made for it in the Avimuktesvara campus,
situated at the foot of the mound on which the temple
had first stood inall its glory. Naturally the other deities
whose temples had stood there and were now being
rebuilt at their original sites, had to be installed in smaller
temples and in this process Avimuktesvara was shifted a

little northwards and space for Visvesvara was found
between the former’s temple and the Gyan Vapi. This
latter well thus became immediately to the south of
Visvesvata’s fane, which was built on a grand and exten- -
sive scale in tune with its popular importance. Conseq-
uently it was the most imposing structure in the locality.
Soonafter another iconoclastic storm burst over Varanasi
and all these temples were once again razed to the ground.
Some decades later there was another reconstruction.
. This time Avimuktesvara was given a corner in Visves-
vara’s temple itself. His independent existence was now

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180 © VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

lost, but his importance was still recognized. Even
Kashi Khand says that in the Kashi Kshetra presided over
by Visvesvara, those who donot visit the noble Avimukt-
esvata lingam are idiots!; and again that in this world
every one worships Visvesvara, but Visvesvara worships
. Avimuktesvata, who gives blessings of life and ultimate
mukti.2 This was in the middle of the fourteenth cen-
tuty. Later came another wave of Muslim fanaticism and
the temples lay in ruins again, and in the next reconstruc-
tion Avimuktesvara lost his identity entirely. His was
now only another name for Visvesvara—and thus Vis-
vesvara became all in all. He was now not only supreme
in the popular view but also the holiest of the holy. All
the sanctity attached to Avimuktesvara was now His.Even
‘religious authorities, in the second half of the fifteenth
century and after, believed that Visvesvara and Avimukt-
esvara were the same — two names of the same lingam.
Writing in 1460 A. D. Vachaspati Misra of Mithila in
his book Tirtha Chintamani says that in the Kshetra called
Avimukta and Smashan the Avimuktesvara -lingam
consecrated by Siva himself is now famous in the world
by the name of Visvanath.® |
Between 1494 and 1496 A.D. Sikandar Lodi again pulled
down all the temples of Varanasi and these remained in
ruins for about ninety years—and the common belief that
Avimuktesvata and Visvesvara were the same persisted.

BESES Ae ne
(1) af agretafaster aafirfecd |
Hulls ETES RE EEDI INTAR 1) [Kashi Khand 39/93]
(2) arif faafaa faasa fera |
afaa g affan || [Kashi Khand 39-77]
O) aaga ë A frena faii
l [ Tirtha Chintamani, p. 360]

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VARANASI’S RELIGIOUS SET—UP 181

Even such a great authority on Varanasi as Bhatta Narayan,
by whose efforts Visvesvara’s splendid Gyanvapi temple
was re-built, said in his Tristhali Setu that Avimukt-
esvara was Visvesvara ( afaqaaeactt fasteqt: p. 296), and
it was only in 1620 A. D. that Mittra Misra (writing in
Orchha) in his book Viramittrodaya — Tirtha Prakash
Khand — questioned this view as erroneous and he proved
on the strength of Kashi Khand itself that these two great
lingas were not the same, because in the lines quoted above,
Visvesvara is said to worship Avimuktesvara, and in the
fourteen-Shivalinga-pilgrimage both the lingas are men-
tioned and if they were considered the same there would be
only thirteen left and not fourteen. ‘Thus their separate
existence was recognised once again and a small temple
was built neat the north eastern corner of the great edifice
of the Visvesvara temple. (The place where Muslim tombs
are now situated as one enters the Gyanvapi enclosure
from its northern gate). | | ,

In 1669 there was the final iconoclastic storm under the
order of Aurangzeb, in which the Gyanvapi temples
(There were at least eleven there—See illustration) were
demolished and this time a mosque was built in place
of the partially demolished Visvesvara temple, the
Western portion of which was broken but not demolished
and was left in that condition to spite the Hindus for all
time to come. It can still be seen in that condition.
( See illustration)

Soonafter, however, Visvesvara was again re-installed
in an inconspicuous corner to the south of the Gyanvapi
well, but with no temple and no ostentation and there he
temained—worshipped by the Hindus but unknown to the

Muslim authorities—till Maharani Ahalya Bai Holkar of =

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- °

182 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Indore built the present temple over Him in 1777. This
accounts for the Visvesvara lingam being in a corner
ofthe sanctum sanctorum ‘and not in the middle as is
the common practice.

There is evidence available that ‘Maharaja Bhava
Singh of Rewah worshipped Visvesvara in 1672 A. D.,
Maharana Jagat Singh of Udaipur in 1677 A. D., and
Maharaja Aniruddha Singh of Rewah in 1695 A. D. In
1734 Maharaja Jawan Singh of Udaipur consecrated a
Shivalingam near Visvesvara and this is still there
under the name of Jawanesvara. In 1749 Maharana San-
gram Singh of Udaipur paid his homage to Visvesvara
and was followed in 1765 by Maharaja Asi Singhji.!

A word here about the grandeur of the Visvesvara
temple built by Raja Todarmal in 1585 A. D., as indicated
in Princep’s views of Benares (1830 A. D.).

The temple was built on a square of 124 feet sides.
There were five Mandapas out of which the central one
was the Sanctum-sanctorum (wit). This latter was’
32 ft. square, and on all four sides of it there were ante-
chambers 16'x10’. Outside these there were smaller
ante-chambers 12’ x8’, which led into four Mandapas which
were 16 ft. square each. ‘These Mandapas were arranged
corner to corner. At the four corners of the main temple
there were four smaller subsidiary temples each 12 feet
square. On the basis of the thickness of the walls Dr. _
Altekar has assumed that the spire of the main shrine
must have been about 128 feet in height and the spires over
the Mandapas and subsidiary temples about 64.and 48 feet

=
ee
ee ee

-=_e ee

A: Vide diaries of Rajguru Triloki Nath Pathak & Pandit
Mahabir Prasad Misra—Tirth Purohitas. ;

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VARANASI’S RELIGIOUS SET-UP 183

respectively. Princep has also given a ground plan of the
temple and marked thereon the portion now occupied
by the mosque.

There is an interesting reference about the Gyanvapt
mosque preserved in Persian literature. There was a
Hindu poet in the court of Shahjahan, who had proclaimed
before that king that he was a Brahman and would
always remain a Brahman even if he were to be taken to
Kaaba a hundred times. He had then said “my heart is so
enamoured of Kufra (all Hindus were called Kafirs and the
Hindu religion was Kafra according to Muslims) that
even if I goto Kaaba a hundred times I will still return a
Brahman”. His name was Chandrabhan and his pen-
name was ‘Barahman.’ He had then escaped death by
the courtiers ‘quoting Saadi’s words which said that if
Christ’s donkey went to Kaaba, it would still be a donkey
on return. He continued to be in the court of Aurangzeb
and when the Gyanvapi mosque had been built the latter
asked him if he could or would say something on the
occasion. Itwasacruel cutto the old poetand he instantly
rejoined with a couplet which means, “Oh Sheikh see
the wondrous greatness of my temple in that it became the
house of (your) god only after its downfall” implying how
much higher it was when in its full glory.’

The king was very angry but kept quiet.

Other important Shivalingas :

Onkaresvara—Next in importance to Visvesvata are

Kedaresvara and Onkaresvata, who share with the former
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184 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

the glory of having parallel autargribas as mentioned earlier.
Of these Onkaresvara is in his original position in a newly
built small temple. Itis situated on the top of a mound
down the western slope of which is situated a big tank, the
original Kapala Mochan Tirtha. In the eighteenth century
Rani Bhavani of Bengal had purchased the whole of this
area and constructed stone embankments of the Kapal
Mochan-Sarovar. She had also built the Onkaresvar
temple, which however went into early ruins and the
mound has gone into adverse possession of the local Mus-
lims—who useitasa burial ground. It was early in this
century that the law courts permitted the construction of
the present temple.

Kedaresvara—This is at present one of the best cons-
tructed and best-looked-after temples of Varanasi. The
templeisa grand structure on thehigh banks of the Ganges,
at the Kedarghat. As mentioned earlier it has also an
Antargriha, which is believed to have the spiritual speciality
that persons dying within its area are eligible for immediate
mukti without suffering the tortures of Bhairavi Yatana for
their sins committed in Varanasi, as is the case in the
Visvesvara Antargriha.

Vriddha Kalesvara—Whose original name was
Kalesvara, and who assumed this name at the time of the
reconstruction of the temple at the original site in the
thirteenth century, because meanwhile the Kalesvara
lingam had been installed at another place away from the
Muslim eye. Sherring was very much impressed by this
temple, the building of which he places in the thirteenth
or fourteenth century. It is a spacious temple with
twelve courtyards, out of which seven are still extant.
Most of the Shivalingas of that locality were re-consecrated

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VARANASI’S RELIGIOUS SET-UP 185

in these courts in the eighteenth century and some old ones
covered in the debris were dug out also.

Krittivasesvara—This temple received the first atten-
tion of Aurangzeb and was not only demolished but replac-
ed by a: mosque on the site in 1659 A.D. No attempt was
made to re-consecrate it elsewhere and a small empty tank,
which marks the first, second, and third reconstruction
sites, is still worshipped by the Hindus on the Mahashiva-
ratri day—the offerings being utilised by the Mutawalli °
of the mosque.

At a short distance from there a small temple has been
built in the last century by Raja Patnimal and the deity
re-consecrated therein.

Viresvara—Viresvara now known as Atma Viresvara,
was ever an important temple—famous for its benedictory
powers. Local memory is still fresh, in this connection
about Pandit Devi Sahaya Bajpai, who was blind for many
years but continued to spend his time in the temple sweep-
ing its floors and cleaning it otherwise—and in the end he
got back his eye sight. His poetical prayers have been pub-
lished under the name of Shaiva Manoranjani.

The present site is one of re-consecration. ‘The oti-
ginal site was near Raj ghat—north of Swarlinesvara now
famous as Naya Mahadeo—situated between the Rajghat
and Prahladghat.

Trilochanesvara—He is one of the 68 symbolic Shiva
lingas, which were installed at Varanasi to represent the
most important Shivalingas of India. His temple remained
in ruins for several centuries because the local Muslim
Governors took their residence near the locality. The new
temple was built by one Nathu Bala. The number of regular
devotees of this temple runs into many tens of thousands.

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186 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Vrishabhadhwaja—Situated on the other side of the
river Varana—and so outside the Varanasi Kshetra—it is
still worshipped by evéry pilgrim, who performs the
Pancha-Kroshi pilgrimage. The Mahabharat mentions
only this Shivalingam in connection with Varanasi.

Kamesvara,Dharmesvara, Jyeshthesvara and Madhyam-
esvara are some other notable Shivalingas.

Temples of Vishnu

Adikeshava—Formerly known only as Keshava—was
the most important deity during the Gahadwal period ashe
was their patron-god, but with the demolition of the Raj-
ghat fort in 1194 A. D. his temple lay in ruins for many
centuries, and when it was re-built ard re-consecrated in .
the eighteenth century, it did not regain its old position.
During the War of Independence in 1857 the ruined fort
was used by the British army as Headquarters and the
temple remained closed for worship for very many years
again.

Bindu Madhava—The most important Vishnu temple
in Varanasi since thefifth century A. D. finds mention
along with Adikeshava in the Matsya Purana—as one of
the five most important Tirthas in Varanasi. It was de-
~molished during every iconoclastic storm and was every
time rebuilt. He was reconsecrated in a newly built
gtand temple built by the Maharaja of Jaipur in 1585
A. D., at the same time that Raja Todarmal built the
Visvesvara temple. Tavernier visited this temple and has
left a detailed description of it. It was a grand building
with four lofty towers at the four corners, with stairs
tunning inside them for people going to their top
storeys. A temple dedicated to Ramachandra and a Vedic

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VARANASI’S RELIGIOUS SET-UP 187

Pathshala were also built next door and the temple of
Mangalagauri was also inside its wall enclosure. In 1669
the temple was demolished and a mosque with two tall
minarettes built in its place under the orders of
' Aurangzeb. The Ram Mandir was-not only spared,
but one of its broken walls was reconstructed with the
building material of the mosque. ‘There is the local story
of a miracle in this connection, but who knows what the
reality was. One is, however, reminded in this connec-
tion of the miracle at Baldauji near Mathura, which com-
pelled Aurangzeb to -grant a Jagir to that temple, the
documents whereof still exist. The minars of the
mosque, however, never received recognition, as minars
of the mosque by the Hindus. They were always called
Madhavarao Ka Dharahara in memory of the temple-
towers they had displaced. ‘They have, however, ceased
to exist now as one of them fell down and the other was
taken down as it had become risky.

Vishnu—tThe only icon of Vishnu installed in Varanasi
in the hoary past was the one consecrated in the Mukti-
mandap of the Visvesvara eae as its preine E

afrravstrarated a: carat Tam] Not only this,
ht on every person to worship Him first, before
worshipping ‘Visvesvara. Upto 1669 the importance
of this image was very great, but with the destruction
of the Mukti-mandap, its worship practically ceased,
although tradition maintains that the image of Vishnu
installed there was removed and is now placed in the Es
hand corner temple as one enters the Visvesvara's
See are forty three other Vishnupithas mentioned
in the KashiKhand, including those of Keshava, Madhava,

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188 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Nrisimha, Vamana, and Varaha. Most of their present
images belong to the period of final reconstruction in the
eighteenth century but one of the Varaha. icons—that of
Tamra-Varah (situated in Brahmanala Mohalla) is a ninth
centuty production. A fourteenth or fifteenth century
image of Bindu Madhava too is preserved in a private
house near Kal Bhairava temple.

Devi Temples

The Kashi Khand enumerates 68 temples ofthe Goddess
and mentions nine Chandis, nine Durgas and nine Shaktis
in addition, but gives only sixteen names as important.
The Kritya Kalpataru mentions twenty four important
temples out of which sixteen are the same as mentioned in
the Kashi Khand and four are mentioned in the latter as
ordinary temples—leaving four new ones to complete
the total of 72 Devi temples in all.

The places of nine Durgas are preserved in tradition
and they are visited by thousands during the two nava-
tatras. The names of nine Chandis are given and their
location mentioned in Kritya Kalpataru and Kashi Khand
but the present location of only seven is known. Of the
nine Shaktis the present location of only three is known.
As mentioned above the Durga Yatra continues in all its
vigour but the Chandi Yatra and Shakti Yatra have lost
their practical importance. i

Next to Nava Durga Yatra comes the Nava Gauri Yatra,
which is still performed by a large number of petsons du-
ting the Navratras. Of the nine temples of Durga pre-
served by tradition the temple at Durgakund attracts the
greatest importance. She has the distinction of being
worshipped both as a Chandika and as Durga. Kritya

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VARANASI’S RELIGIOUS SET-UP 189

Kalpataru mentions the pilgrimage of, only five Gauris.
but enumerates only four. The Kashi Khand adds.
five mote to complete the nine. Of these latter Bhavani.
Gauri needs special mention, as right upto the sixteenth
century She wasworshipped as Annapurna, and the deity
in the temple where Annapurna is now worshipped was
Bhuvanesvari. After the demolition of both these:
temples in 1496 A. D. the temple of Bhavani remained
in ruins but a new temple (and a Math) were built at the
‘site of the Bhuvanesvari temple under the name of Anna-
purna and though Bhavani Gauri’s image was later on
reconsecrated in a small temple it never received the
former recognition and the new Annapurna conti-
nued to be worshipped in the way prescribed for Bhavani
Gauri. Vishalakshi Gauri is also one of the important
deities of the town. Another Gauri—Mahalakshmi
the goddess of wealth also needs special notice as She:
is worshipped for sixteen days at a stretch and attracts.
thousands of votaries every day during that period.

In addition to the Devi temples mentioned above there
are two places specially sacred to the Matrikas. One was
situated to the north of the Swarlinesvara temple (men-.
tioned in connection with Viresvara supra) and the other
near the Dasasvamedha Ghat. The former is now re-
presented by icons outside the northern wall of the Swar-
linesvara temple, and the latter is known as the Shitala
templenear Dasasvamedha, its original name having gone:
out of the public memory. ;

Out of the Matrikas in the first locality Panchamudra _
Matrika also known as Vikata Matrika was reconsecrat--
ed at the present site near Viresvata and was called San-.
kata. This goddess is one of the most worshipped deities.

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190 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

in Varanasi. The ghat on the Ganga near the temple is
known as Sankata Ghat.

The Mattrikas near Dasasvamedh Ghat are extremely
popular too and are visited and worshipped by tens of
thousands under her present name of Shitala, although
there are eight icons that are worshipped.

Vinayakas

The Kritya Kalpataru mentions 9 Vinayaka temples
and the Kashi Khand 71 of which four are common to
‘both the lists. ‘Thus there are 76 Vinayaka temples men-
‘tioned, of which 56 are the Kshetra-Rakshakas—ordinarily
known as Chhappan Vinayaka. ‘These latter are not con-
sidered very important individually and are only occasion-
ally worshipped, but cumualatively they constitute a special
‘pilgrimage, which too is not very common at present.
The most important Vinayaka is of course Dhundhi
Vinayak known popularly as Dhundhi Raj. His place is
very well known but what is not commonly known is the
fact that his image re-consecrated at the original site is
situated in Rani Bhavani’s temple right over the temple
-of the deity popularly knownand worshipped as Dhundhi-
raj; the latter having obtained the title by a fortuitous
‘circumstance in the eighteenth century. An older
reconsecrated image of Dhundhiraj is a few houses to
the west of the present site and is known as Pancha-
-mukhi Ganesh. He has recently received the designation
of Yaksha-Vinayaka bythe decree of a civil court, but
his real name is Adi-Dhundhiraj.

Skanda Temples

Three images of Kartikeya or Skanda are mentioned in
the Kashi Khand. The one at the Manikarnika ghat,

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VARANASI’S RELIGIOUS SET-UP 191

is no longer extant. The second was in the Ambikesvara
or Dakshayinisvara temple near Ratnesvara. This image
was in the shape of a Shivalingam with six heads. It
suffered damage at some stage and is now placed in the
Kala Bhairava temple. The third is perhaps the most
important, because it was placed in the Skandesvara temple
itself. This temple no longer exists but the beautiful
Skanda image of the Gupta period now sheds glory on the
Bharat Kala Bhavan collection at the Benares Hindu
University. =

Bhairava. Pithas

Only one Bhairava belongs to Varanasi—and heis Kala
Bhairava, entrusted with the two fold duty of preserv-
ing the sanctity of Varanasi by keeping the sinners out of
the holy place and of punishing those who indulge in sins
inside Varanasi Dharmakshetra. It is because of these
punitive duties that he is popularly called the Kotwal of
Varanasi. ;

His original place was near the Onkaresvara temple in
Pathani Tola but He was re-consecrated at the present site:
sometime in the beginning of the thirteenth century in a.
thatched hut, which later on was covered with country
tiles. There was no temple, no ostentation or display,
and this inconspicuousness saved Him from molestation
in subsequent iconoclastic visitations. Thus he remained
vety well known to the Hindus but of no consequence to-
the Muslims for about six hundred years till his present:
temple was constructed by Sardar Vinchurkar, Command-
er-in-Chief of the Peshvas about 1825 A. D.

During the ascendency of the Shakta worship the usual .
eight Bhairavas were installedin Varanasi also. Of these the-

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192 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

exact location of only three is given in Kashi Khand and
even that in.other contexts and the location of them all is
given in a manner that beats all calculation. The
first six are enumerated in an order which is not geogra-
-phical and it is said that the last two are situated in the
same order. ‘Tradition however, has given them exact.
location}

The location of Asitanga Bhairava was originally in the
locality around Krittivasesvara, and he was re-consecrat-
«d in the Vriddhakal temple. The Kapali Bhairava had his
temple somewhere in the Nag Kuan area, and Samhara
Bhairava was originally located to the east of Kharva
Vinayak in the Rajghat Fort but was re-consecrated near
Patan-Darwaza. This last Bhairava is an immigrant to
Varanasi from the Bhairava Kshetra.

Elesewhere Kashi Khand also mentions another
Bhairava viz. Kankala Bhairava. His image is-worshipped
in a niche near Siddha Vinayaka.

Surya Temples

Kritya Kalpataru mentions only Lolarka and no doubt

He is the most important, but Kashi Khand mentions ano-

other twelve making the total of thirteen. The suggestion

that these latter were“‘invented”’ has been already rebutted.

There is another error which out modern historians have
committed in this connection. They say that there was a
Siva-temple —Lolarkesvara — which has been mentioned

in Kritya Kalpataru but this is wrong.. It is clearly
stated there (p. 118) that situated to the south of

~ Kalanjar Siva is Lolarka the Sun-god. “aaa afan att

(1) qastan PNA AITEAN |
SHAA CAAA Asrcaraat T

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VARANASI’S RELIGIOUS SET-UP 193

emi mata: The name of Lolarkesvara Siva is
mentioned neither in Kritya Kalpataru nor even in
Kashi Khand, where too Lolarka is described as a Sun-
god. In Kritya Kalpataru elsewhete also Lolarka’s is
clearly stated to be the temple of the Sun-god.
“ard fai gaat ait agai at (K. K. T. p. 237). So
the historians have “invented” this Lolarkesvara myth
in trying to foist the process of “invention” on the »
Puranic authorities.

Of the thirteen Surya images mentioned in Kashi
Khand only three are now prominently worshipped viz.
Lolarka in Bhadaini, Sambaditya in Suryakund Mohalla on
the banks of the Suryakund ‘Tank, and Mayukhaditya in
the temple of Mangala Gauri. ;

Naga Temples

‘Three Naga tirthas are mentioned in Kashi Khand
viz. those of Karkotaka, Manipradip and Bhadra Naga.

Karkotaka’s image is still worshipped at Nag Kuan
once in the year on the Naga Panchami day. This place
is historically connected with the famous grammarian
Patanjali, the author of the Mahabhashya, which is said
to have been composed at this spot. Learned Shastrarthas
(disputations) have been held at this place for thousands
of years on the Naga Panchami day but the practice is now
dying out.

Mani Pradipa’s temple was situated in the Nagnath
miohalla and the Mani Pradip Kund was filled up in the
construction of the Streathfield Road (vide Princep’s map).

The location of Bhadra Nag is not known now, al-
though it was known fifty years ago to be situated in the —
= Bhadra Kup Mohalla.
13

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194 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Vetala and Yogini Temples

Sixty four Vetalas are mentioned in a general way but
only Agnijihva Vetala has been specially mentioned.
He is at present worshipped as Vetalesvara (in house
No. K. 53/32) near Vriddhakala.

Similarly 64 Yoginis are mentioned. Their images
existed till the last century in the Rana Mahal near Das-
asvamedha but have since disappeared — only six or seven
being still there. There is a big fair one day after Holi
_ at the Chausaththi Ghat, which bears its name on their
account and formerly people went to worship these 64
Yoginis inside Rana Mahal but for a very long time
now the image of Sinha: Vahini is worshipped in their
place just above the Chausaththi Ghat.

In 1580 a. D. there used to be some Yogini images
near Durga Kund also as mentioned in the Tristhalisetu
but they have ceased to exist there now.

There is mention of a special divinity, the Vrisha-
Rudra, whose temple was situated to the south of Mani-
pradip Naga and the icon is still there in a niche near
Harfirath tank.

Shiva-Ganas

Forty Siva-Ganas have been mentioned to have
consectated Sivalingas in Varanasi and their locations
have been given, but there were only eight images of
these Ganas themselves. ‘They are, however, of little
importance in the matter of worship now.

Tirthas

Having finished with the temples we now come to the
Tirthas.

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2 ,
a

VARANASI’S RELIGIOUS SET-UP “495

They are of four kinds :

a) Sthala Tirthas -that is to say sacred localities

b) Jala Tirthas, which include, lakes, ponds, tanks,
wells and Vapis 7

c) Three rainy season rivers are also mentioned viz.
Mandakini, Pitamaha-srotika or Brahma Nal, and
Matsyodati.

d) Tirthas along the current of Ganga.

Of these the Sthala Tirthas havenow disappeared owing
to their occupation by houses all over. Of the Jala Tirthas
a largenumber have been filled up and houses built thereon
and this process is continuing. | Vapis have disappeared
and only two now remain viz. Gyan Vapi near Visvesvara
temple and Karkotaka Vapi, popularly known as Nag
Kuan. A few old wells can also be recognised but their
importance is now diminishing.

Princep’s map shows a large number of these jala-
tirthas and gives their then current names but their old
names have been lost or are being gradually forgotten".

There are ninety nine tirthas mentioned within the cut-
rent of the Ganga between the Varana-Sangam and the
- Asi-Sangam at the two ends of the Varanasi stretch of the
holy river, and the important ones of these tirthas have
given their names to the Ghats situated at these places,
but even these names are gradually wearing off, The
five most important ones, which constitute the elements of
the Pancha-tirthi pilgrimage are as follows :—

1) Dasasvamedha at the Ahalyabai Ghat (not at the

(1) Readers interested in details of these sirthas will find -

them inthe author’s book ‘Varanasi Vaibhava” being
published by the Bihar-Rrshtrabhasha Parishad, Patna.

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196 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Dasasvamedha ghat, which latter place is connected with
the Bharshiva sacrifices). |

2) . Lolarka above the Tulsighat in Bhadaini Mohalla.

3) The Varana-Ganga-Sangam at the confluence of
the Varana with Ganga.

4). The Panchanada at the Panchaganga Ghat.

5) Manikarnika at the Manikarnika Ghat.

Of these five, Manikarnika has been stated to be the
most important. - This tirtha has been covered by the
Ganga—and is now represented by a small tank- known
as Manikarnika Kund or Chakra Pushkarini, which
is about sixty feet square at the top and tapers down to
about twenty feet square near the water’s edge. It is
supplied by two underground streams of subsoil water
and the image of Manikarni Devi is placed therein to be
worshipped. The last repairs were carried on in 1623 A.D.

The name Pancha-nada needs a word of comment.
Waters of five rivers are said to be present here. The Ganga
brings the waters of three of these (viz. Ganga, Yamuna, and
Sarasvati) from Allahabad, and two sub-soil streams viz.
Kirana and Dhutapapa join the Ganga at this place. For-
merly the cold water of these two latter streams could only
be felt during the summer evenings when the Ganga water
was hot and these steams entered below the sutface, but
since the earthquake of 1934 the level of the sub-soil
water at Varanasi has risen by ten feet or more, and these
streams canbe seen flowing out through the crevices
of the ghat into the Ganges now. | `

Considerable scoffing has been indulged in by Europ- .
eans and English-educated Indians about the existence

(1) The name of this river'is Varana not Varuna as is

Supposed by mistake, -

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VARANASI’S RELIGIOUS SET-UP 197

of the river Sarasvati at the confluence of Ganga and
Yamuna at Allahabad, but science has given a lie to this
scoffing. Dr. S. S. Nehru, the eminent scientist, actually
measured the radioactivity of the Ganga and the Yamuna
waters sepatately at a respectable distance from the con-
fluence, and then he measured the radioactivity at the
Sangam (the confluence) and lo and behold the radio-
activity at the confluence was much greater than the sum
total of the two figures about Ganga and Yamuna. The
Sarasvati too is thus a sub-soil stream joining the two
rivers at the Sangam like the Kirana and the Dhutapapa
of Varanasi. . . as

The three rainy season rivers mentioned as (c) in the

biginning have altogether disappeared now, but since one
of them has created a lot of misunderstanding in the minds
of our modern historians and they have disseminated this
misunderstanding. among their readers, it is necessary to
devote some space to them.

1) The Pitamaha-srotika or Brahmanal was a Nala’
which was formed by the junction of three streams
into one, which carried the rain-water of the
Visvesvara area to the Ganga. Its waters were
considered very sacred — especially for the dead..

2) The Mandakini (present Maidagin talao) was a big
lake even as late as 1822 A.D. The whole area

between the Kala Bhairava-lane and Bara Ganesh
and between Raja Shiva Prasad’s Baradari and’
` Dulahinji Road was one sheet of water throughout:
the year. During the rainy season, however, it
became connected with the Shiva-Sarovar (over
which the entire Bishesharganj market has since
been constructed) and the Matsyodari, which will

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198 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

be taken upin the next paragraph. The combined
waters of these three lakes, now joined into one,
flowed southwards along the present Lajpat Rai
Road and joined the Bulanala, Bhuletan, Benia
pond, Misirpokhra and Godowlia and from there
along the Godowlia Nala into the Ganga near the
Ahalyabai ghat. Thus during the rains it too be-
came a pretty long river. .

3) It is the third river (actually a lake during the
non-tainy season ) Matsyodari, which has created
misunderstanding, even though the whole thing
has been very clearly explained in the Tristhali
Setu’ (written in 1580 A.p.). In spite of it,
however, the historians have taken to surmises.

Matsyodati was a big lake — even in 1822 a. D. It

may have been even bigger in the earlier centuries.
During the rainy season its outflow went northwards and
joined the Varana river. Princep’s map clearly indicates
the route of this outflow. On these occasions when the
Ganges was in very high floods, its waters pushed back the
Varana waters and rushed up to Matsyodari in a counter-
direction from the usual flow. ‘There was then a con-
: fluence of the Ganga and Matsyodari waters near the
Onkaresvara mound at the Kapala-Mochan Tank. This
was towards the north. ‘Towards the west as has been
described (under the heading Mandakini above) the joint
waters of the Ganga and Matsyodari flew into the Shiva
Sarovar and later into Mandakini and flowed southwards
till they ultimately reached the Ganga at Ahalyabai Ghat.
The whole town of Varanasi situated on the high ridge was
surrounded by water on those occasions, and this condi-
tion was called the Matsyodari Yoga and a bath at the

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VARANASI’S RELIGIOUS SET-UP 199

Matsyodari and Ganga Sangam was considered very
sacred, and according to the Linga Purana it was on
such an occasion that Bhairava took his bath there and
Brahma’s head, which had been sticking to his hand all
these days dropped there at once.’ It was because of this
fact that the site of Matsyodari-Ganga confluence was
called Kapala Mochan Tirtha.

It was on a similar occasion, so sacred and so rare,
that Maharajah Govind Chandra took his bath in the
Ganga at the Kapal Mochan Ghat on 21st July 1122 a. D.*
and made a copper-plate grant of a village to 4
Brahman. One of the historians has missed the whole
point and has inferred that in the days of Maharaja Govind
Chandrathe Kapala Mochan Tirtha was on the banks of the
Ganges, forgetting that the Kritya Kalpataru written about
the same time as the copper-plate-grant and by the Maha-
raja’s own Prime Minister clearly said that “the big tenk of
Kapal Mochan was situated at a certain place” in the third
line of the Linga Purana quotation given in the footnote.

The Kashi Khand dealing with this situation says that
“the Matsyodari lake: became twofold; when that tirtha
came in contact with the Ganga water on those
occasions when the water of Ganga reaches there by the
Samharamarg (flowing in the opposite direction), the
sacredness of the Matsyodasi Tirtha increases very much.”

(1) afna are a aAa ead Sit Bd AAT |
aa gaa ware eat aod N

GAS |
es (Linga Purana Kritya Kalpataru p. 59.)
(2) Saarne aaa We sagai
imat emae aar TAS WTA qana Fo ROE
farata

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200 NARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Our historians have failed to understand this situation
and have tried to explain it by “imagining” that in those
days Matsyodari was some underground river which fell
into the Ganga. Tristhalisetu (1580 a. D.) as men-
tioned: above has clearly explained the position. It says
that the Matsyodari Tirtha became twofold because firstly
there was water in the Tirtha itself and secondly it was
also.in the passage which led it outside (into the Varana),
but when during the rains the flood water of the Ganga
enters the Tirtha from the opposite direction and spreads
there the occasion is very sacred.

The place where this confluence of the Ganga and the
Matsyodari waters took place has been called “‘Machhodari
Sangam in the map of Varanasi published by the then
Collector Mr. Bax in 1863. In Princep’s map (1822 a.D.)
it has been called “Rani Bhavani Talao” because she had

-purchased the land on which it stood and paved it with
stone embankments.

Caves and Pillars

Caves—There were two caves leading to underground
rooms, where sages of old carried on their Tapasya. One
of them was at Narharipura near Isvargangi — sacred to
the memory of Jaigishavya Rishi. The lower chamber has
since been closed by government but the upper cave is
still present. l

The second cave was in the mound surmounted by the
Onkaresvara temple. It was an extensive one and a
passage led from there directly to a well, where there was

em NS

(1) aeit Na: aean aenema aa a
TRAIT aa Rei asig qaaa ime serch

CALDE LEETS? i M [Tristhalisetu p. 140]

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VARANASI’S RELIGIOUS SET-UP è 201

a trap door. This door can be seen even now deep down
into the well during the summer months but the external
door has disappeared. The mound is a kutcha one and the
passage must have collapsed. As mentioned earlier in
_ another connection the mound is in adverse possession of
the Muslims who use it as a graveyard.

Pillars

There were two pillars at Varanasi in close proximity
of each other at the locality known as Lat Bhairava..

One of these the Mahashmashana Stambha was -des-
troyed by the Muslim conquerors several centuries ago,
but fortunately its capital has been saved and is worshipped
in a house near Kala Bhairava as Chakrapani Bhairava.
(See illustration) It is a beautiful piece but the details have
become blurred because of its being regularly painted with
vermilion. The pillar itself was re-consecrated nearby and
is known as Dandapani Bhairava. According to Puranas,
it was the place where-Bhairava punished those who
indulged in sinful acts within the limits of Varanasi.

The second pillar was called Kula-Stambha, which
existed intact till 1809, when it was smashed by the.Mus-
lims in a serious riot. ‘The base of this pillar still survives
and is worshipped as the Lat Bhairava by the Hindus.

According to Tavernier, who saw it during his visit
to Varanasi in 1665 A. D., “this pillar was 32 to 34 feet in
height and it was said at the time that it was buried —
equally deep in the soil. Its thickness was such that
three persons joining their stretched arms could hardly
surround it2? It was made of Chunar stone and Tavernier
could not scratch it with his pen-knife. “The capital was
square and tapering surmounted by a round ball, below

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202 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

which there ran a girdle on which were figures of animals
in profile.” Originally it was situated inside the temple
of MahaRudra. Lateron when Aurangzeb built a mosque
in the place of this temple its location was in the mosque
quadrangle. The Hindus, however, were permitted to
worship it and do so even now, but it has been and still
continues to be a source of conflict. It is conjectured to
be an Asokan pillar and the name Kula-Stanfgha lends
weight to this conjecture, but the remaining stump is
covered by copper plate and painted with vermilion. So
it is not possible to corraborate this theory.
Pilgrimages

The Puranas have prescribed quite a latge number of
pilgrimages to suit the convenience of all varieties of
persons. The simplest of course is a bath in the Ganga
and the worship of Visvanatha; and if one has more time
one could undertake longer pilgrimages, in which the
number of Sivalingas to be worshipped increases to two,
three, four, five, six, eight, eleven and fourteen. Then
there are three varieties of the fourteen-linga-pilgrimage.
These are expected to be finished in the morning and
may involve a walking tour of eight or ten miles, and
occupy 4 to 5 hours.

l The most important, however, is the Antargriha pil-
gtimage. There are three such, one each for Visvesvata,
Kedaresvara and Onkaresvara. ‘That for Visvesvara takes
8 to 10 hours. The same is the case with that for Kedat-
esvara, but that for Onkaresvara occupies one whole day
and pattofthesecond. Ofthese three that for Visvesvara
is the commonest and there are still a sizable number of

persons, who perform it quite often, though this number
is fast declining, - |

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VARANASI’S RELIGIOUS SET-UP 203

Then there is the Pancha-Kroshi Pilgrimage, which
occupies five-to six days — and involves a journey of about
fifty miles in all, right round the boundaries of Kashi by
a prescribed route. A lot of confusion has been created
by Sherring and the modern Indian historians about this
pilgrimage. Sherring states that as there are no temples
on this via-sacra more than three hundred years old, the
pilgrimage is a new one. The historians say one better.
- According to them this pilgrimage is an afterthought too
because it has not been mentioned in the Kritya Kalpataru.
Theirs is the same old thesis that what is not in the Kritya
Kalpataru is modern, a thesis which has been already re-
futed in this chapter earlier. Actually, however, the
Kritya Kalpataru does mention this pilgrimage but in an
out of the way place, where it has escaped the eye of the
historians. In the chapter about miscellaneous pilgri-
mages it describes the all India pilgrimage undertaken by
Prahlada and dealing with his visit to Varanasi it is said
that after worshipping at Prayaga he went to Varanasi,
where he took his bath at the Dasasvamedha in the Ganga
and worshipped the various deities including Lolarka the
Sun-god, Avimuktesvara, and Kesava, and after per-
forming a circum-ambulstion of the Kshetra, he left for
Mathura. It is a quotation from the Vamana Purana.

So the pilgrimage is not an afterthought bu; y
prevalent even in the days of the Kritya Kalpataro—an
there must have been a fixed route the details of which are

rR l
' $ a Ta , a Yesi ai [Kritya Kalptaru p-237]. :

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‘Po Ue T A E, F
B % . . 4
r ‘
Vs A
sire
$

204 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

not given there. The Kashi Khand does not even men-
tion it. Perhaps because.it does not deal with Varanasi
proper. In fact the route runs even outside the present
Puranic boundaries of Kashi, which it citcumambuletes.
It is Kashi Rahasya of the Brahma Vaivarta Purana which
gives the full details

1, Readers interested in the details of the pilgrimages and ~
the present location of Kashi Khand deities can find
full information in the author’s Hindi pamphlets
Varma et aaran” and “arene ar anfretan fara”

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CHAPTER 8
RELIGIOUS AND MONASTIC INSTITUTIONS

It is not for nothing that Varanasi has been called India
‘in miniature. ‘There is enough justification for this title
in all spheres of life—religion, commerce, and social life
being no exceptions, and a bird’s-eye-view of Varanasi
‘as a centre of religion in its monastic aspect reveals that
practically all religious sects have their branches in this
catholic city- and in this list may be included not only
‘Hindus, Jainis, Buddhists, Sikhs and other sects of Hindu
affiliation but also Muslims and , Christians. The Hindu
mathas (monasteries) have been often presided over by
very learned men for several successive generations. It is
not possible to discuss in detail the various centres and
monastic establishments connected with each ofthe various
communities and sects ‘as their number is prohibitive, but
a general survey reveals that practically all ancient and
modern persuasions have their representation im this
holy city. :

To start with the Hindus, quite a large number of
temples have their 4 ‘nistrative units as monastic
establishments. Excavations at Rajghat in 1940 have
unearthed seals of earlier establishments, which managed
the Avimuktesvara and other temples in the Gupta period.
Even the famous Annapurna temple is in reality a temple
—————~ nT cvelopaedic information on the subject

1. iri Cage’
Those aspiring for encycloP subject published

would do well to look for it in the book on the
by the Indian Institute for Advanced Studies, where have
250 institutions of this kind.

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been given S

e) as
Re
A

206 — VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

attached to a Math — established quite three or four cen-
turies ago. Yet earlier when Shan karacharya founded the
four monastic Pithas in the four corners of India each one
of them established some sort of monastic representatives
in Varanasi including the Kanchi Koti Math to which
Shankaracharya himself belonged. This was in the eighth
century A. D. Shankaracharya also reorganised the San-
yasins of India and divided them into ten groups e.g.
Gir, Giri, Puri, Bharati, Parvat, Aranya, Sagar, Anand
etc. and each one of them has a monastic establishment —
some of these being extremely rich and influential under
their titles of Niranjani, Nirmali, Juna, and Nitvani
Akharas and similar other names. Those who have wit-
nessed their processions in the Kumbha Mela at Allahabad
‘in the past are acquainted with their grandeur. The
Udasis have their own Math too.

Of course the position of the Shankaracharya Pithas -
among Hindu establishments of the kind was ever supreme,
and after them came the establishments of the Nath sect.
They were a véry: numerous and powerful sect all over
Northern India and have produced quite several spiritual
progidies. Gorakhnath and before him Matsyendra Nath
have an all-India reputation and the city of Gorakhpur

_ actually owes its-foundation tothe formet’s ashrama there.

In Varanasi. their principal seat is the Gorakhnath-ka-
Tila near Maidagin gardens, which is maintained by the
Rajasthan government out of Jaipur accounts and which
also claims the allegiance of the Jodhpur princes. The
Master Yogi of the Nath community in Varanasi when
Aurangzeb’s iconoclastic storm overran this city was
Aparanath. An account of his supernatural powers will
be found in a subsequent chapter.. The Gorakhnath-ka-Tila

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RELIGIOUS AND MONASTIC INSTITUITIONS 207

` and the Aparanath Math (near Dhundhiraj) and Aparnath-

ka-Tekra at Laxmi Kund thus owe their existence to Im-
perial sanads granted to him. In this connection local
tradition says that these buildings were actually con-
structed by Aurangzeb’s masons and material.

The Kala Bhairava temple and adjoining places were
also under the control of a Kali Math, which still exists
near the said temple and in which are the Samadhis of
famous Nath ascetics.

The four Vaishnava Acharyas Ramanuja, Nimbark,
Madhvacharya and. Vallabhacharya established their own
Mathas in this city. ‘There are several of these belonging
to the Ramanuja sect. The Madhva instituition actually
ptovided funds for the establishment of a chair at the
Government Sanskrit College for teaching their philosophy
(maara ) long ago- though unfortunately the funds
were not renewed on exhaustion and the chair lapsed.
The Nimbarkas have their headquarters here in the Nim-
barka-Kot in Chaukhambha. The centre of Vallabha- >
charya’s Philosophy here is the famous Gopala Mandir
also at Chaukhamba, which has had the distinction of being
presided over by a succession Of learned nee =
famous in their own day for their extensive know ae
not only of Vallaba Vedanta, but also of > a
systems of Philosophy- whose word was a a8
only unto their followers but also to others of Hindu

tae Te ninth and tenth centuries the Shaktas too had

their days of glory in Varanasi and there were Bice
establishments where Sadhakas carried on their i
worship. The Kalimath opposite the Laksha a ist
Tank is famous in this connection and there are one OF ie 3y

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208 =n VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

other small places of similar reputation near the Chausatthi |
ghat and the Kali Temple of Dasasvamedha.

Contemporaneous with the rise and spread of the Nath
Sampradaya in Northern India, there arose a new sect in
the South called the Lingayats. They too have had an
establishment here for the last several centuries under the
name of Visvaradhya Matha. In connection with a
court case in which the instituition got involved, they pro-
duced several Imperial Farmans — and it is said that there
was also a deed of gift from one Jaya Nand (or Jaya
Chandra) King of Varanasi which had perished due to
age. There is a good library attached to this Math, which.
is very rich in their own literature.

Then there is the Jangambari Math of the Jangamas,
who own extensive properties and who have in their
possession Imperial Farmans from Aurangzeb granting
them Jagir.

-Ramanand—the precepter of Kabir- is remembered
here by his Matha at Panchaganga ghat, and just below the
Alamgiri mosque there, there is a Hg (room) named
as Ramanand-ki-Marhi where he is said to have lived and
‘where his accidental meeting with Kabir is said to have
taken place. A Sanskrit Pathshala, the Ramanand Vidya-
laya is also being run by the establishment at Shankhudhara.

Ramananda’s disciples were responsible for a revolu-
tion in the sphere of religious theory and each oneof them
was important enough to perpetuate a sect of his own
followers. Of these Kabir is all-famous and has several
Mathas — one of which was constructed near the Lahartara
temple where Kabir was found by his foster-father. The
Kabir Chaura Math is of course the centre, where there is
an authorised portrait of the Saint. Neatby are the tombs

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RELIGIOUS AND MONASTIC INSTITUTIONS 209

_of his fostex-father and mother. Kabir had four pupils
viz. Jagu, Bhagu, Sutatgopal and Dharmadas. Surat-
gopal was his heir at the Kabirchaura Math, Jagu at the
Shivaput Math and Dharmadas at the second math at
Lahartara and the one at Rajori, Bhagutoo had a Math the
location of which has now beenlost. One fact, however,

remains that even though all these pupils of Kabir had -

their own importance in one way or another the Kabir-
chaura Math continued and still continues to be the Head-
quarters of the Kabirpanthi sect.

Ramanand’s other pupils — Raidas Bhagat, Sena Bhagat,
and Pipa Bhagat were great religious leaders of their day.
They possessed .considerable spiritual excellence and
powers and each one of them had a group of followers,
who took their name after them. Of these Raidas is very
famous and is saidtohavelivednearthe Panchaganga ghat.
There is, however,no special place which could be pointed
out as his place of residence, but there is.a math of his

followers in the Inglishia Lines. Followers of Pipa and .

Sena Bhagats are occasionally met with but there are
no regular monastic establishments connected with
them. ;

Guru Nanak, himself came to Varanasi, and some of
his successors including Guru Govind Singh are said to
have visited this city. The Guru-Ka-Bagh one ed
rates the locality where Guru Nanak stayed and the As a
Bhairava Sangat, the residence of Guru Govind Singa.
There are also three or four other big Sangats belonging to
the Sikh community. The Shahzade-ka-Math belong-
ing to Baba Sumersingh Shahzad
tava. ‘There isalsoa math at Ram Nagas, rae
an authentic copy of Guru Grantha Saheb. P

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e is also at Ashu Bhai- —
which possesses
, alatial

210 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Gurudwara is being now constructed near Augharnath-
ki-Takia.

Dadu Dayal, the promulgator of Dadu Pantha never
visited Varanasi but his disciple Sundar Das lived here for
about twenty years rom 1606 or 1607. Later on one of his
disciples built a Math in his name as Dadu Math. There
is a valuable portrait painting here depicting Dadu Dayal,
and Akbar and Maharaja Tikaji sitting in front of him.
Sundar Das stands behind his teacher with a Chanwar. It

is an old painting — certainly about two hundred years

old.

The Avadhut Sampradaya has had its headquarters at
Krimi Kund—in Kinaram’s Math. Kina Ram is said to
have been born between 1600-1628 A.D. at Ramgarh and
obtained his real initiationin Avadhuta Marg at Girnar—
in Kathiawad, but he settled down at last in Varanasi near
the Krimi Kund. On his death in 1772 a. D. he was buried
nearby and in course of time a Samadhi was built over his
body. Since then the Kinaram-Ka-Astar at Krimi Kund
continues to be the centre of Avadhut System of
philosophy — which insists on an extremely difficult life,
about which Kinaram himself said tara waht West Ae |.
TH ad feat gx welt (It is not easy to live the life
ofan Avadhut. At every step extreme difficulties have
to be faced). Actually there are seven such centres,
from where his disciples (and successive dis ciples) gather
at the Headquarters on Bhadrapada Shukla Shashthi and
great celebrations are held there for two days. ‘The best

and the greatest singers — dancing girls— go there early
in the morning and await their turn till daybreak the next
day. Vidyadhari, Husna, Bari and Chhoti Maina and all
others who craved excellence in their art attended this

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RELIGIOUS AND MONASTIC INSTITUTIONS 211

‘Seminar’ to obtain the spiritual. benediction of the Saint,
whose aura still fills the place. Anold painting of Kina-
ram is preserved at this Math and the tradition of singing `
before it still continues. -

Tulsidas himself started no sect but his place of resi-
dence towards the end of his.life has earned the name of
‘Tulsi Math—and treasures his sandals and some other
articles connected with him. There ‘is also a portrait but
it has been tampered with at some stage and is not consi-
dered of much importance by experts now.

In this connection mention must also be made of the
Bharat Dharma Mahamandal and the Pativrajaka Maha-
mandal both of which have been connected in the past
with great personalities — top-notchers both in learning
and in spiritual attainments. |

The recent sect of Swami Narain is represented here
near Machhodari tank. ‘The Totadri Math of the South
has also a local seat on the Varana near Rajghat. The
Radhaswami Sampradaya is represented by a palatial
building and garden of historical importance near the
Kabirchaura Hospital-and the samadhi of Pt. Brahma
Shankar. the third ‘Guru’ has been constructed at the
site.

There are six Muslim religious institutions in Varanasi
viz. the Hamidia Madrasa in Madanputa, Mazharul
Ulum in Kachchibagh Alaipur, Matla-ul-ulum, also in
Alaipur, Rahmania Madrasa in Madanpura, the Islamia
Madrasa also in Madanpura and Saidia Madrasa in Dara-
nagar. All these represent institutions of the Sunni
faith.

The Shias have also two Madrasas viz Imamia Madrasa
at Telianala and Jawadia Madrasa at Alampura.

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212 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Christians have also a large number of Churches in
Varanasi and it is said that all the various persuasions of
Christianity have a representative Church here. Full
details about the Christian Missions have been given in

: the chapter on Education and a renarration would Bee

mean unnecessary repetition.

The Jainis have their most important Math at Ram
Ghat—the Chintamani Parshvanath Jain Mandir and a
temple at Sarnath. The Buddhists have the whole town-
ship of Sarnath to represent their faith, an account of which
has been already given in an earlier chapter.

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CHAPTER 9

SAINTS AND SPIRITUAL GIANTS OF VARANASI
Varanasi has had the privilege ofhavinga large number
of saints and spiritual giants within its fold in the course
of her long history. Some of them came fora short time
and then moved out, while some others came here to stay
and lived for many years and shoved off their mortal coil

in this holy city. eat eee
Patanjali—The earliest name of a historical individual
that occurs is that of Patanjali — the great grammarian and
author of the Mahabhasya— who is believed to have been
an incarnation of Shesha Naga. He was acontemporary of
Pushyamitra Shunga, the founder of the Imperial Shunga
dynasty. ‘Towards the end of his days he lived in Vara-
-nasi and tradition says that he taught the Mahabhashya
` tohis pupils here and ultimately joined Lord Visvanatha
in this holy city. It may be mentioned here that he was
not the author of the Yoga-sutras, which had been com-

posed by an earlier namesake. tie

Kabir— The next name that strikes the mind is that of
Kabir- the founder of Kabir Panth, whose life story is
too well known to need repetition here. Although he
- lived in Varanasi, he did not aspire to diein this holy city —
rather he depended on his own spiritual achievements to
obtain the final beatitude. “If Kabir dies in Varanasi

(and thereby

cidedto dieina godforsaken

-s thathe de
spisitual exc district and did die there.

village — Magahar in Basti

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obtains salvation) why should he accept it
as a kindness of Rama”. He was so confident: of his own

At Da E
yt >
mN
a rT dg’

214 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Muslims and Hindus both claimed him as one of their own
_ tribe. He was to be buried by the Muslims who were
the stronger party, but when the cover was removed from
over the dead body, there was no corpse — only a basketful
of flowers. These were divided by both parties and given
a burial according to Muslim rites in atomb and in accom-
paniment of Hindu ritual ina Samadhi. How much truth
athere is in the above account it is difficult to say but there
are the two buildings — a mausoleum and a Samadhi side
by side at Magahar to testify that something of the kind
did happen.

Tulsidas

Next comes Gosvami Tulsidas, whose greatness is
acknowledged all over the world.as.a great religious
preacher, and the country has actually celebrated the
four hundredth anniversary of his great poem — the Rama
Charita Manasa- on the Ram Navami day of Samvat
2031 (1974 a: D.). His fame as a poet and educator of
public opinion in his day has.reached the four corners of
the world and his masterpiece mentioned above has þeen
translatedin most languages of civilisation. As a saintand
Spiritual giant, however, heis believed tohave had physical
audience of his Ishtadeva, Sri Rama, more than once and
Hanuman is believed to have listened to his recitation of
the Ramayan every evening. . He is reported to have per-
formed certain miracles too. He was born on the 7th
day of the bright half of Sravana and died on the third day
of the dark fortnight of Sravana in the Samvat year 1680
(1623 A. D.) at a ripe old age. He was the originator
of the Ram Lila—an open air drama, which has attained
classical dimensions in Varanasi.

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SAINTS AND SPIRITUAL GIANTS OF VARANASI 215
Kina Ram

This great saint was afollowerof the Avadhuta Marga
—an extreme form of mono-theism, which believes God
to be all present and so does not consider any thing as
_impure. He is said to have been born between 1600 and
1628 a. D. and took to religious life quite early. He
went to Girnar and as a result of a rigid penance obtained
the audience of Saint Gorakhnath, by whose blessings
he soon obtained the presence of Lord Dattatreya, the
patron-saint of the Avadhut Marga, at whose direction he
visited the Himalayan shrines and then settled down at
Varanasi. - Here he met Kalu Ram- another saint of his
own line- who gave him further insight into the secrets
ofhis religion. ‘Thereafter he came and took his residence
under a tamarind tree near Krimi Kund where he remained
all his life thereafter. He had earned considerable: spirit-
ual and superhuman powers, which he bequeathed to his
successors. His ashrama is considered a very sacred place
and his successors are said to possess miraculous powers,
which are employed for the good of those who go there in
search of some sort of a blessing. He is said to have
attained the age of over one hundred and fifty years. The
view expressed by some people that he was a contem-
porary of Gosvami Tulsidas is only partially true, for at
best he could have been only inhis teens, when the latter
shed his mortal coil and had not yet settled down in his
Ashrama at Krimi Kund.

Aparanatha

He was an outstanding Yogi of his day and was a con-
temporary of Aurangzeb, towhom his miraculous behaviour .
was reported by his officers; who were incharge of building

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216 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Operations in connection with the Gyanvapi mosque.
Ass the mosque was being built and watermen were bringing
water for the construction, a Hindu Faqir sat nearby and
requested for a draught of water in his cocoanut shell.
The water bearers brushed. him aside, but when he was
persistent one of the petty officers asked them to give him
some water. One ofthem then opened the nozzle of his
Mashak (Leather bags in which Muslim watermen carry
water even today) and started pouring water into his
cocoanut shell, but it would not fill and the mashak was
empty. Quite several mashaks were emptied into the
tiny cocoanut shell without filling it. Everyone was
amazed and in course of a few days news had been carried
to Aurangzeb at Delhi and he actually donated three plots
of land to Aparanatha — one near the Dhundhiraj and the
other near Lakshmi Kund and yet another near Maidagin
where his admirers built three Mathas (monasteties),
which are in a flourishing condition even today.

Jangam Swami

Jangam Swami of Jangambari was anothet Yogi, who
dazzled Aurangzeb by his miraculous activities and ob-
tained a Sanad and property as gift.

Siddhagiri
He was another brilliant star possessing great Yogic

powers, and founded a Matha (monastery) at Lalitaghat.
Several of his successors were also great Yogis.

Totapuri

The Yogic teacher of Paramhansa Ram Krishna, the
famous saint of Dakshinesvara near Calcutta during the

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SAINTS AND SPIRITUAL GIANTS OF VARANASI 217

last century. Totapuri lived at Bhelupur in Varanasi. He
possessed great Yogiclearning and powers and went all the
way to Dakshinesvara to instruct Paramhansa Ram
Krishna in Yogic practices and to initiate him in Yogic
mysteries. 7
Tailanga Swami

_ In this saint we reach the realms of recent past, the
events of which were witnessed by our fathers and grand-
fathers with their own eyes. Born in a well-to-do family
in the village Halia in the Vijayanagar kingdom, the
Swamiji’s original name was Shiva Ram. He was born on the
eleventh day of the bright half of Pausha in the Samvat
year 1664 (1607 a. D.). The child showed signs of abnorm-
ality in his behaviour by never crying, and as he grew,
his religious bent of mind became very perceptible.
When he was in his early teens the parents tried to marry
. him but he refused'to do so and they had to agree to let
him have his way. In course of time his father Narsingh
Rao died and he spoke very little thereafter. Soon enough
his mother,whom he had accepted as his religious precept-
or (Guru) quite early in life, died suddenly, when he was
not-in the house, and he arrived just as the body was
being taken out for cremation. He followed the cortege
tothe burning ghatand did his duty by setting fire to the
funeral pyre, but satin a revrie afterdoingso. On being
awakened he gave out his decision to live at the burning
ghat thenceforth and did so for several years, till one dark
night a Yogi, Swami Bha girathanand reached there. He
was already seventy eight at the time but there weree
signs ofoldage. He accompanied this Swami to Pushkar
- near Ajmer and was there given the Sanyasa Diksha and

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218 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

thenceforth became Gajanan Sarasvati with a shortened
appellation of Ganapati Swami. It was here that he learnt
Yogic practices and secrets from his Guruand soon became
an adept in them. Shortlyafter, his preceptor too died
and then Ganapati Swami left his Danda and Kamandalu
(ascetic’s stick and water-pot) and took a vow of silence
and Ayachakatva (not to ask for anything from any body).
He was now an Avadhuta (like Kinaram described earlier).
He left Pushkar and wandering about naked, and braving
all kinds of weather without clothes or covering wandered
about till he reached Ramesvaram. He was now ninety
and had taken another vow of not eating anything except
what was placed in his mouth by some one else. From
therehe moved to Dwarikain Gujrat and in course oftime
reached Nepal, where he spent six years in the Pashupati-
nath temple itself. His miraculous powers now began to
be broadcast and so he quietly slipped away one day and
travelling over the hilly tracts of the Himalayas reached the
holy strines of Badari Nath and Kedarnath, from where he
went to Kailas and Mansarovar via Gangotriand Jamunotri.
He spent several years on the banks of the Manasarovat
and inthe caves of Kailas— all the time without any clothes
or covering (at a height of 15000 to 22000 feet above sea
level). Thence he came down to Madhya Pradesh, and
after spending some years on the banks of the Narmada,
finally came to Varanasi. In the beginning, he lived on
the banks of Ganga at Assi Ghat but soonafter moved to
Panchaganga. Heusedhis miraculous powers forrelieving
human suffering and was responsible’ for curing hopeless
cases from disease — and even death. 7 l
In 1869 A. D. Paramhamsa Ram Krishna (Preceptor
of Vivekanand) came to Varanasi to offet his homage to

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SAINTS AND SPIRITUAL GIANTS OF VARANASI 219

Ganpati Swami — now famous as Tailang Swami because
he came for Telangana — whom he called his Param Guru
(Preceptor’s preceptor).. Paramhamsa Ram Krishna stayed
at Kedarghat and while on his way thence to Panchaganga
on a boat he passed the Manikarnika Burning Ghat and
while there he got into Samadhi (Yogic trance) and saw
Shiva and Parvati, the latter pouring nectar into a conch
and handing it over to Shiva,who poured it into the right
ear of the corpses, while uttering the Taraka Mantram.
Soonafter he reached Brahmaghat. It was a very hot
day and the sand onthe banks of Ganga was so hot thatit-
. was difficult to tread on it — but when he reached there he
found Tailanga Swami lying placidly on the hot sand in
perfect peace and tranquillity. The two saints met and
seemed to recognise each others’ spiritual individuality,
and on his return Paramhamsa Rama Krishna told his fol-
lowers that Tailanga Swami was Visvanatha himself in
flesh —and he was already being considered as such by
people in Varanasi.

In 1877 A. D. he told his followers that he would soon
be going away — and on Pausa Shukla Ekadashi of Samvat
1938 (1881 A. D.) the famous ‘Visvanatha in the flesh’

became unified with the Supreme Visvanatha. He shut
himself in his underground retreat for 2 or 3 hours and
when he came out resplendent with divine glory, a big
crowd gave him an ovation and followed him to the
Ganga. Here he sat down inside a stone box and the lid
was placed on the top under his direction. The box,
tied up with ropes, was to be lowered in midstream, but
as it was being put on a boat some of his bhaktas
arrived from Calcutta posthaste and in order to give
them the last darshan the lid was lifted—but there was no |

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220 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

body — only a handful of flowers lay at the bottom of the
box. ‘The box was, then not lowered into the Ganga
but was brought back and buried in the underground
chamber where he used to perform his Sadhana —and over
it was consecrated a huge Sivalingam. A life size statue
was also placed in the exact place where he used to sit
every day. . | :

Chhote Paramhansa

One need not raise once eyebrows in disbelief at the
fact that Tailanga Swami lived for 280 years, for here is
another instance of a Yogi living for 300 years and his
= Gutu even longer. His age was substantiated by actual
experience and personal knowledge. (see portrait)

No one ever knew wheré Chhote Paramhansa was
born. and who were his parents — nor when he was born,
but he had been a regular visitor on the Vijayadasami day
to the family of Maharaja Sir Digbijay Singh of Balrampur.
for five generations and the story went that before these
150 years during. which he had been visiting this family
he was an old man and that he did not show any signs of
aging thereafter. Heusedtocometo Varanasi and live
in the family of the writer of this book for several months
in the year for practically twenty years. He performed no
miracles, was a Paramhansa and a Yogi. He ate very
little and even that was vomited after an hour or‘ two
after eating. His spiritual achievements were witnessed
at the time of and in the manner of his death, which took
place in Bombay in the clinic of Dr. Sir Bhalachandra
Krishna Bhatavadekar K. C. I. E., the leading Surgeon
of Bombay at the time, and the manner of his death
was communicated to the writer’s grandfather by Sir

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SAINTS AND SPIRITUAL GIANTS OF VARANASI 221

Bhalachandra himself. One morning as the surgeon sat in
his surgery Chhote Paramhamsaappeared on the scene and

after receiving his salutations told: him that he had come ,

there on an urgent mission i.e. to make his will. The
Doctor smiled and asked him how. much money he would
leave him and.was told that he would leave all that he had
in the world to him for proper disposal. He was to be
the Executor of his will. The “will”? was that when he
would die, the Doctor should cut his body —his sole
possession — into four parts and put themin theseaon four
sides of the boat in which it was carried to the sea. The
Doctor smiled again and asked what if he died away from.
Bombay. The reply, short and terse, was that it was not the
Doctor’s concern. : He should do what he was told. After
this the Doctor went in to call his wife for the Yogi's
dar shana, and when he returned in a couple of minutes the
Yogi was already dead and within an hour of his making
his will the four pieces of his body lay in the sea. This
was in 1897. About 1878 he had been told by his Preceptor,
Baba Purushottam Das,:who lived in the vicinity of Palan-
pur near Baroda—away fromhuman habitation— ina lonely
hut hardly six feet square, with only one window, which
also served as the door, going up two steps on the out-
side and down two steps inside, that he wanted to leave

this body and Paramhamsaji requested him not to do so ~

tillhe came tohimwitha gentleman fromVaranasi. Quite:
a year passed thereafter and a postcard asked Paramhamsajl
to do what he had said soon. On this the latter went to
Palanpur accompanied by Pandit Kailas Nath Sukul,.
the author’s grandfather, and his son (author's father),
who was about 9 years old. They reached the hut in the
afternoon and on being called, the old Yogi came out and.

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222 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

satonthe window. He had in his hands a be} containing
an arsenic preparation, which cured asthma in nine days,
and two Yogic scrolls. Paramhamsaji then asked him to
tell Pandit Sukul the manner in which the Bhasma of
mercury and that of arsenic were prepared. The old
Yogi dictated the process, gave some instructions to
Paramhamsaji, which were also taken. down in writing,
and then asked Pandit Sukul to read out what he had
-written to ensure correctness. He heard the whole thing
through and said yes, and he was dead. The whole thing
-was witnessed by the author’s father and grandfather and
it was these people who arranged his Samadhi forthwith,
and he was buried within two hours of their arrival at the
kuti.

This episode is not a story but God’s own truth and
‘before one scoffs at it one must pause and think on the
possibilities which Yoga offers for prolonging life. The
original dictation he gave still exists in the author’s family
and can be inspected.

‘Swami Vishuddhanand Sarasvati

He was born in a Kanyakubja family near Unnao
and took service in the army as a soldier, when he was —
about twenty years, and was posted in the South. One
evening he visited a prostitute. She did not know
Hindi and he did not understand Telugu. So she used
Sanskrit, which unfortunately he did not know either,
although he could catch the genetal import. On this she
scolded him and said that it was a shame that being a
Brahman he did not know Sanskrit, while a prostitute
that she was, she could converse in it. ‘This hurt his
vanity and he returned to his headquarters, resigned

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SAINTS AND SPIRITUAL GIANTS OF VARANASI 223

service and came over to Varanasi to read Sanskrit. He
approached a famous Pandit of Varanasi and requested
him to teach him. The Pandit saw this young man of
twenty five, a perfect ignoramus, wanting to begin the
A. B. C. of Sanskrit. He laughed outright and said he
was too old to learn Sanskrit and should go away; but
the pupil was not going to be sent away so easily. He
crossed the street and sat on the platform of the opposite
public well and listened to what was being taught to-
other pupils. The next morning he came quite early,
swept the place where the Pandit taught his other pupils
before the latter’s arrival and then quietly went and sat on
the platform of the well listening to what went on in the
seminary. He repeated this process forthree years and so:
sharp was his intellect and so precocious his memory that
in the course of those three years he mastered not only
the Sanskrit grammar but also Vedanta and allied sub-
jects. And then one morning after sweeping the floor
as usual, instead of going tohis regular seat on thewell, he:
sat down on the ground near the place where the most
elementary pupil of the Pandit sat. Soonafter the Guruji.
and, the pupils arrived and were surprised to see this-
ignoramus, as they considered him to be, sitting there..
On being asked why he sat there, he humbly said that he
wanted to challenge the foremost pupil of the Guruji to-
a Shastrartha (learned argumentation) -— and the debate
started and continued for more than a couple of hours, at
the end of which he defeated his opponent in argument.
On this the Guruji felt annoyed and offered to enter

the lists himself in a fresh Shastrartha, but on hearing
this he fell at the lattex’s feet and-declared that he could
not think of an argumentation with his own Guru, who:

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224 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

had taught him all that he knew, even though without
consciously or deliberately doing so. The Guruji was
very much pleased and then taught him as his best pupil
‘ and in course of time he became one of the greatest in
Vedanta, an unquestioned authority, at whose feet learned
Pandits sat for higher studies. M. M. Pandit Shiva Kumar
‘Shastri and Pramathanath Tarkabhushana were two of
his prominent pupils. Meanwhile he had become a
Sanyasin and applied himself to the practice of Yoga, in
-which too he attained considerable excellence — so much
so that when the time came, he announced several months
‘beforehand that he would go away on a certain day and
on that day he got into Samadhi and soon his soul merged
in the Universal Soul, his body being immersed in the ©
‘Ganga according to his last wishes at the Dasasvamedha
Ghat where he had been living for many years.
(See portrait)
Swami Bhaskaranand

He was another ascetic, who was also a top-notcher in
Vedanta. He lived near Durgakund and had the reputa-
tion of being not only a learned man but a great Yogi—
one of the greatest in Varanasi. He too prophesied the
‘day of his death and wished to be buried in the garden
-where he lived. His pupils and admirers have built 2
‘marble Samadhi over his bones, which is a beautiful
‘structure—and a visitor thereto feels a distinct aura
filling the place. —

‘Others

_ Among lesser lights but brilliant in themselves both
in learning and spiritual excellence may be mentioned the
names of Tara Charan Paramhamsa, Shyama Charana

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SAINTS AND SPIRITUAL GIANTS OF VARANASI 225

Lahiri, Shanker Chaitanya Bharati (Mauni Baba), Kashtha-
jihva Swami, Bihari Baba, Khichri Baba, Gyananand
Sarasvati, who founded the Bharat Dharma Mahamandal
with his pupil Dayanand Sarasvati (not the founder of
Arya Samaj but another of the same name), and Nish-
chalanand Avadhut. |
Ma Anand Moi
Coming to recent times the most important personality
- that emerges is Ma Anand Moi, who has reached the
' highest stage of Yogic attainment. She has had direct
visual contact with Lord Krishna, whose image in a .
peculiar physical attitude she has installed in her Ashrama
at Vrindaban. It was in this attitude that she had seen
him in her Samadhi and has perpetuated it for everyone
to see. She does not live at Varanasi all the time now
but her disciples have constructed a beautiful Ashrama,
2 Pucca Ghat on the Ganga, and a hospital in her name.

Mahamahopadhyaya Pandit Gopinath Kaviraj
Formerly Principal of the Govt. Sanskrit College, ,
Varanasi, Pandit Gopinath Kaviraj was a top notcher in
learning — one of the stalwarts; but along with this he was
a great adept at T antric studies, which he followed by
becoming a Tantric Sadhaka. His progress 1n this sphere
was phenomenal and very soon he became the greatest
Tantric Sadhaka in Varanasi and people started coming
to him from allover India to obtain light in this sphere.
He has now reached a stage when Samadhi has been attain-
ed. The speciality in his case is that he has reached : this
level of spiritual excellence not through the well-known
Yogic practices but by Tantric Sadhana. He now spends

most of his time in Ma Anand Moi’s Ashrama at Varanasi.

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2260s g VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Visiting Saints

Varanasi having been the most important religious
centre for the last two thousand years or so, most of the
Acharyas who founded new sects or attained the status of
Gurus came to Varanasi at one time or another. Guru
Nanak came to Varanasi and stayed near Kamachchha
where his disciples built the Guru Bagh. Guru Govind
Singh also visited Varanasi and stayed near As Bhairava,
where his stay has been perpetuated by the building ofa
lofty and beautiful Sangat (meeting place for worship).

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the famous Vaishnava Saint
stayed at Varanasi for some time on his way to Mathura
from Puri, where he usually lived. His stay here has been
perpetuated by a platform and a banyan tree under which
he stayed. The old tree having dried up another has
been planted many years ago. The locality is now called
Jatan Bar, a corruption of Chaitanya Bat. Here he also
met Mahaprabhu Vallabhacharya the famous Vaishnava
Acharya, who started Vishishtadvaita system of Philoso-
phy. The latter’s residence is nearby and is known as
Mahaprabhuji-ki-Baithak.

Ramakrishna Paramahansa also visited Varanasi as
has been mentioned in connection with Tailanga Swami,
whom he called his ‘Paramagurw’ (Teacher’s Teacher).
Vivekanand also visited Varanasi and founded the famous
Ram Krishna Sevashrama (Ram Krishna Mission).

Another shining star in the Yogic firmament was
Baba Chandul Das. He was a Punjabi by birth but soon
became a Sanyasi and took to Yogic practice —and in
course of time obtained certain super-human powers.
He was a frequent visitor to Varanasi, where he stayed
with the author’s grandfather Pandit Kailas Nath Sukul

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SAINTS AND SPIRITUAL GIANTS OF VARANASI 221

on whom he showered his favours for over twenty years. .
One of these favours deserves mention specially as it
was actually experienced by the author's grandfather at
first hand. The latter was in the service of the- Maharaja
of Balrampur and was at Amritsar at the time. Baba
Chandal Das was also’ there. One day- before Ganga
Dasehra (tenth day of the bright fortnight of Jyeshtha),
the Baba left for Hardwar by an afternoon train. That
very night Pandit Sukul left Amritsar for Multan, and
as luck would have it in the rush of arrangements for the
journey he was not able to drink water and the train left
Amritsar. He suffered from asthma and as the thirst
increased he fell into an acute physical pain and suffering.
There was no water with him and the only water available
at the various railway stations was carried in leather
- Mashaks, which he would not take as an orthodox Hindu.
His suffering was, therefore, intense and it became un-
bearable as the train steamed into the Multan railway
station. Pandit Sukul got out of the train — and lo and
behold, there stood Baba Chandul Das with his lota (brass
vessel) full of water. He said he had run all the way from
Hardwar to relieve the suffering of his Bachawa (an
affectionate title for boys). The latter drank the ‘nec-
tar? and Baba Chandul Das walked away, not to be seen
again for several years.
There was also another Yogi, Baba Sachchidanand
of Bethar near Unnao, who had developed superhuman
powers in the matter of physical movement like those
exhibited by Baba Chandul Das. He too was a frequent
visitor to Varanasi, and his super-natural powers found
expression on the day of his death, when he visited every —
one of his bhaktas (those who revered him) and gave each

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228 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

one of them some article or other as a momento, and
these bhaktas lived at Varanasi, Balrampur, Patna and
otherplaces. TheKurta of printed cotton, which he gave
to the author’s grandfather still exists in the family.
_ At the present time too there is a Saint — with consi-
derable Yogic powers, who visits Varanasi frequently.
He is actually the Mahanta of the old and famous
Dwarikadhisha temple at Assi and is the head of the local
Ramanuja sect. He is Suhaval Prapanna Ramanujacharya,
better known as Deorahwa Baba. When in Varanasi he
usually lives on a Machan on the Ramnagar bank of
the Ganga but inside the stream. There is a very large
number of his bhaktas in Varanasi. His headquarters,

however, are near Lar Road on the North Eastern
Railway.

CHAPTER 10 -
FAIRS AND FESTIVALS

For thousands of years Varanasi has been famous
for its fairs and festivals, and the clay-modellers of Vara-
nasi have been specialising in this sphere for at least two
thousand years. There are—or rather were till about
forty years ago — thirty two top festivals during the year
and for each one of them the clay-modeller had selected
a specific toy or clay-image, which one could purchase
in thousands on that particular day, but which it was
difficult, if not impossible, to obtain the next day or ever
thereafter, till the same day next year. The number of
these festivals still remains but the intensity of popular
feeling of rejoicing on the occasion is being worn off by
the grinding cost of living. In spite of this, however,
the number of these joyful days is yet not insignificant
and the true Varanasi-man, manages to find enjoyment
in them despite his lean purse growing leaner everyday.
The distinctiveness of the toys is, however, gradually
wearing off.

Varanasi being a religious town par excellence most
of its festivals are connected with some particular aspect
of faith. The Ganga and the Ghats, and the various
Tirthas (sacred spots) along them provide several occa-
sions for festivals. :

1) Chaitra Navaratra

` Beginning with the bright half of Chaitra, the first
fortnight of the Samvat year, the New Year’s Day

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230 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

proclaims the beginning of the Chaitra Navaratra, when
every temple connected with Devi worship rings with
bells and tinkling manjiras; and a thousand sweet voices
raised in worship electrify the atmosphere. The nine
Gauries and Durgas are the chief attraction and the
number of devotees visiting these temples in turn accord-
ing to a fixed schedule runs into lakhs (hundreds of thou-.
sands). Durga images of clay are the speciality.

2) Gana-Gauri

On the third day of the New Year every family coming
from Rajasthan and Maharashtra celebrates the Gana-
Gauri festival with great eclat. The worship continues
for a few days and then the image of Gauri is taken out in
a procession in choicest clothes and valuable ornaments.
Gauri images of clay are available on this occassion.

3) Ram Navami

On the last day of the Navaratra falls the Ram Navami
the birth day of Lord Ram Chandra and every Ram
Mandir celebrates the occasion with considerable pomp
and splendour. Ram Ghat is the special centre for bathing
on this day and the images of Rama and Sita and his
brothers are worshipped in the nearby Ram Mandir,
the Ramesvara lingam there also receiving special wor-
ship. Formerly there used to be Shahnai music at most
Varanasi temples on all festive occasions and the chief
temples had it throughout the year thrice in the day, but
that has now become a luxury— because the States, which
provided it are no longer in existence and the common
man is much too poor to afford it. So, one finds only
dholaks and manjiras, or bells and conches providing
the accompaniment to the sweet music of thousands of

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FAIRS AND FESTIVALS 231

melodious voices. Quite a large number of families
celebrate this festival in their homes too.

Images of Ram, Lakshmana and Sita—as also of
Hanuman are available in thousands in various qualities.

4) Panch-Krosi Pilgrimage

The next month of Vaisakha is a month of austerity
and penance. It opens with thousands of families —
men, women and children — going out for the Pancha-
krosi Pilgrimage, a circumambulation of the Kasi-
Dharma-Kshetra as specified in the Brahma-Vaivarta
Purana. They walk the whole distance, about 50 miles
in all, in four or five days, stopping at prescribed places
on the way, where Rani Bhavani of Bengal and several
other philanthropists have built pilgrim-houses for them
in the eighteenth century and later. This pilgrimage
is a moving fair full of bustle and activity and religious
music all together — a very inspiring sight indeed —
even for those who are agnostics or even sceptics.
There aré no special toys on this occasion. A similar
pilgrimage is also undertaken in Agahan (November).

5) Shitala Ashtami

The eighth day of Vaishakha is sacred to Goddess
Shitala, when once again the sweet-throated damsels in
their colourful dresses sing lyrics in honour of the goddess
in all her temples — specially in the ones at Dasasvamedha
and Shitala Ghats. Similar festivals acerepeated on the
eighth day of two succeeding months of Jyestha and
Asatha—and also on the eighth day of the previous month
of Chaitra, with which the year closes.

‘There are no special toys on these occasions.

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232, VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

6) Vaishakhi Amavasya and Akshaya Tritiya

Shitala Ashtami is followed by Vaisakhi Amavasya a

week afterwards and the Akshaya Tritiya, three days
thence. These are the most sacred days of the year for a
bath in the Ganges and other religious penances including

Dan (gift)specially of Saktuka (flour of parched barley and

gram popularly called Satua). On the eighth day from the
Amavasya falls the Ganga Saptami -the day on which
Ganga descended from her Himalayan gorges to the
lower hills and continued her course towards the plains.
Images of Ganga are available on this day.

7) Narsimha Chaturdashi and Vaishakhi Purnima

The last day of Vaishakha is a bathing festival and a
day previous to it falls the Narsimha Chaturdashi when

_ there are fairs at Bara Ganesh and Prahladghat, where the

killing of Hiranyakashyapa by Lord Narsimha is drama-
tised. Images of Narsimha are available in clay on this
occasion in the city and those of Buddha at Sarnath where
the Buddhists celebrate-Lord Buddha’s birthday.

8) The Ganga Dasehra and Nirjala Ekadashi

On the tenth day of the bright half of Jyestha falls the
Ganga Dasehra—the anniversary of the day on which
Ganga’s waters reached Hardwar in the hoary past. This
is a bathing festival par excellence and the public worship
of Ganga at Dasasvamedha Ghat in the evening is a sight
for any one to see.

Images of Ganga are obtainable even now. A hundred
years ago Raja Bhagiratha on a boat followed by Ganga

on her allegator were also made, but these are no longer

available.

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As Burar

FAIRS AND FESTIVALS = 233

The next day is a day of fasting — the Nirjala Ekadasi—
when lakhs of people in Varanasi keep fast and go even
without water for twenty four hours. The Pancha
Ganga Ghat celebrates its Gangotsava on this day, when
thousands of lamps illuminate the Ghat. These celebra-
tions are meant only for the men and keep on till very
late in the night. Quite a large number of persons swim
across the Ganga in the evening even now, but the
swimming competitions, which used to enliven the
atmosphere till fifty years ago have been given up.

9) The Ratha Yatra

On the seventeenth day of Asarha falls the Ratha
Yatra festival, when a fair is held at the famous Ratha
Yatra crossing, near the Kashi Club, which lasts for 3
days and is visited by several lakhs of people. This fair
at Varanasi symbolises the famous Ratha Yatra (Car
Procession) at Puri, and has a history. Pandit Beni Ram
and Bishambhasr Ram two brothers were very prominent
citizens of Varanasi in the eightees of the eighteenth
century, the former having saved the life of Warren
Hastings in 1781 and the latter was Diwan at Cuttack in
Orissa. Bahuji Bai of this family and the Raja of Machhli
Shahar received separate supernatural orders inadreamto
instal an image of Lord Jagannath at Varanasi, and thus a
temple of this deity was built at Assi and the usual three
images made of sandal wood were installed there. The
Ratha (many wheeled car) was constructed in 1806 and the
Ratha Yatra fair started from that year. Formerly a fair
was also held at Assi on the Amavasya of Jeth known as
Snana-Yatra of Jagannath but it has practically ceased

now. The usual procedure is to bring the three Sri =

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: ee |

234 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

- Vigrahas (images) in separate palanquins on the night of

the first day of the bright half of Asharh and place them
inthe Ratha, andthe Yatra (journey) starts the next morn-
ing and the Ratha is brought to the famous Ratha Yatra
crossing where it remains for three days, after which the
return journey is completed the same night and the Lord
returns to his temple at Assi. There is a similar
fair on this day at Raja Talao- ten miles from
Varanasi. |

Clay images of the trio are made in different grades of
workmanship on this day -and Nankhatai is the special
sweet sold in this fair.

10) The Guru Puja and Vyasapuja

These two festivals take place on the same day and are
symbolicoftheancient tradition of pupils paying reverence
to their Gurus (teachers) even after leavning the teacher’s `
Ashrama on completing their studies. The full moon day
of Asarha thus finds thousands of pupils repairing to the
house of their present and past teachers with flower
garlands and mango fruits in Varanasi. where the `
old tradition still continues. In temples the Vyasas
(who recite the Puranas there everyday) are similarly
fevered by those who usually listen to their daily
discourses.

11) The Vriddhakal Fair
-Each Sunday in the month of Shravana witnesses 4

fair near the temple of Vriddhakala in Daranagar. For-
merly it used to be well-attended by men, women and

children, butis now losing its importance andis dwindling

into Practical insignificance.

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FAIRS AND FES TIVALS 235
12) Durgaji-Ka-Mela

This is held on every Tuesday of Shravana and is one
of the best attended fairs of Varanasi. Itis held near the
famous Durga Kund and about fifty thousand people —
men, women and children-go there to offer theit obei- _
sance to Durgaji and incidentally also worship the nearby
Sankat Mochana Hanuman, and visit the beautiful temple
— Tulasi Manasa Mandir, built very recently by Seth Sureka.
The whole of Ram Charit Manas of Tulsidas is engraved
in marble on its walls. There are also very many mecha-
nically driven gadgets presenting Puranic scenes. The
last Tuesday isthe most important, on which day several
means of public entertainment and amusement like the
merry-go-round and the vertical swing etc. also assemble
there, and on that day the congregation reaches almost
a lakh visitors, the fair lasting the whole day till late in the
night.

13) The Shankhudhara Fair

Held on the Karka Sankranti day (the Summer Solstice
according to the Nirayana calculations) this fair was once
a magnificent affair. The Shankhudhara Tank and the
nearby temple of Dwarikadhisha were the objects of a-bath
‘and worship respectively. The tank having been Katcha
and the temple in sad repairs, Babu Sangam Lal—a rais
of Shivila Ghat re-built the temple and put up stone-
embankments round the tank in 1839—49 A. D. He also
donated about a hundred bighas of agricultural Jand for
their upkeep. In those early days the aristocracy of
Varanasi used to assemble in the nearby garden of Champat
Rai Amin to enjoy dancing and seasonal music avan all-
night sitting, but in 1868 when Sherring wrote his book x

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ee ee ee ee es eS er ere a

236 ‘ VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

. this practice had already ceased. At that time the fair was

still there for the religious minded people — but there was
little festive activity on the part of the well-to-do. The
downward march of the Mela had started -and today
its not even a shadow of its original splendour.

14) Naga Panchami

In the second half of Shravana—on the fifth day -
there is the famous and ancient fair of Naga Panchami
celebrated at the Karkotaka Vapi (now known as Nag
-Kuan),where the image of Karkotaka Nag is worshipped.
It is an ancient Vapi (looking more like a deep tank than
a well, but its waters come out of a deep well sunk in
the centre) with stairs on all sides. Its embankments,
were repaired twice in the course of the last many cen-
turies -and a third time by Princep, when he was Col-
lector of Varanasi between 1820 and 1830 a. D.

The chief attraction of this fair to day, apart from

-` the bath and worship, is athletic bouts in the afternoon

when athletic Varanasi seems to pour itself down on
the spot—old athletes patting their pupilsand grand-
pupils, who exhibit their skill in a large number of bouts —
till late in the evening.

Tradition connects this place with the great grammarian |
Patanjali (second century B. C.), whois said to have taught
his Mahabhashya to his pupils at this very spot, and to
commemorate that event there used to be learned dis-
putations here by top-notchers of Sanskrit Grammat in
Vatanasi for over two thousand yeats—but they have now
ceased. Clay models of snakes are available on this day
for worship and pictures of snakes are sold by small boys
in their own neighbourhood with the famous cry “Bate

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FAIRS AND FESTIVALS 237

Guru Ka, Chhote Guru Ka Nag le Nag” (“who will

_ purchase Nagas prepared by the senior teacher and the
junior teacher ?”’).

15) The Jhula Festival

A week after Naga Panchami starts the Jhula Festival,
when almost every temple of Krishna arranges to dis-
play the deity swinging on beautifully decorated swings.
These decorations cost millions of rupees in the total
and it is on record that several raises of Varanasi, decorat-
ed their family temples with real gold trappings and
strings of pearls, rubies, emeralds, and even diamonds
during the nineteenth century. The Tulsi Manas Mandir
at Durgakund and the Visvanath temple in the Benares
Hindu University Campus attract the largest number of
visitors, but most of the older and bigger temples
still present a creditable performance in this sphere.
The Jhula celebrations in Ram Bagh at Ram Nagar
are also remarkable for their royal setting—held

as they are under the direct patronage of the Kashi-

naresh.

These celebrations last for five days and the final day
is also celebrated as Raksha Bandhan.
16) Raksha Bandhan Festival s

On this day — the last day of Shravana — every brother
in Varanasi (in fact all over India) goes to his sister if she
lives in the same city and gets a silken thread, often

decorated with beautiful trappings, tied round his wrist —

a symbolic assurance that he would be her protector

through life. The story of Humayun receiving sucha

Rakhi (the silken thread) from a Rajput damsel in distrei : 3 ;

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TET
s g

. fe
` he

Tg
E : a ee.

a “< m
4 pe Psa K Diae p
3 ME EO OAN È
4 Dye Sy ee S Frito
~— -& w d oe & Poh ws Se.

“nL Oe on ee eee

Ll ee ee A n

238 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

is a historical fact, and demonstrates the depth of feeling
associated with the festival. 3
It is also customary on this day for a Brahman to tle
the coloured silken thread round the wrist of persons —
even strangers—and receive some money as Dakshina.
This custom has received such asanction that in the closing
years of the last century a famous Brahman Rais of Va-
ranasi, having failed to obtain possession of a small strip
of land near his Kothi through the law courts, actually

- tied a silken rakhi round the wrist of his erstwhile advert-

sary on this day and asked for the land as Dakshina.
There could be no refusal and his wishes were fulfilled.
17) Kajli Ty

Bhadrapada opens on the very third day with Kajli
Tij —a festival of real Varanasi significance— when Kajli
songs filled the air even in the dark and dingy lanes and
byelanes of the city—and hearts of people reverberated
with the ecstasy of music and throbbed with the cadences
of these classic melodies for a whole month. Batches of
women dressed in multi-coloured saris on their way back
from the Jhula festivities, halted in streets for a while,
stood in a circle with their arms enlaced in one anothers’
and sang a Kajli song as they revolved slowly, and bent
low in ecstasy, and the air was full of the charm of music
and the atmosphere became surcharged with emotional
effulgence. Then they broke the circle and moved
ahead. This was fifty years ago. ‘Things have since
changed and the old exhuberance of spirit is toning down.
The struggle for existence is now so severe — and the ideals
of our youngsters are not attuned to such seraphic situ-

ations. i

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FAIRS AND FESTIVALS 239

Besides these moving musical parties there used to be
a fair also at Iswaragangi and Shankhudhara, where cheap
music was played and rewarded by a “cheaper” audience.

18) Krishna Janmashtami

Next comes the Krishna Janmashtami five days later,
which is celebrated in most Hindu homes in addition to
the temples of Vishnu and Sri Krishna, and in which
millions of rupees ate spent on decoration. Such is the
popularity of these scenic representations that besides the
sacred celebration by the elders of the family, children

arrange separate tableaus by their own effort—and very |

many of these show considerable taste and insight.
Gardens with houses, streets, fountains are arranged with
animals and clay images of men and women, and Gopis
and Sti Krishna showing various scenes of “his life in an
effort to recapture the ‘Vrindaban festivities. a special
feature of this festival is to distribute “prasada

(offerings of sweets) to as many visitors as the individual

purse allows; and soon after midnight visitors in ee
move from temple to temple and from gu to house
offer their obeisance to the deity at these places.

19) Ganesh Chaturthi

The nineteenth day of Bhadrapada isthe birth anniver- —

lebrations are a
sa of Lord Ganesha. These ce jons are
pel of the people of Maharashtra, and they last for

seven days, in these fami aperinee
: laces here, of whi |
organised functions at seven p cha and he Peshwa’s

at Sanga Veda Vidyalaya at Ra

lies at Varanasi. -There are well-

t
Ganesh Temple at Agnisvaraghat (Naya Ghat) are most

; EN
important. The latter temple has an image of Ganesh,

about a foot in height cut from a sing

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le piece of coral. 5

240 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

20) Lolarka Shashthi

On the sixth day of the bright half of Bhadrapada,
- there is a very great fair at Lolaraka Kund in Bhadaini.
This is one of the biggest fairs of Varanasi even today,
more than fifty thousand women visiting the sacred tank
from morning till late in the afternoon — bathing in the
waters and worshipping the Sun-God, and offering him
gourds, in which thousands of needles have been set
in all directions representing a rough and ready replica of
the Sun God -the needles representing his rays. This
is a women’s festival par excellence and till fifty years
ago thousands and thousands of them moved about in
groups singing and carolling after the worship till the
afternoon. ‘Thereafter men took possession of the festi-

vities and groups of amateur Kajli singers moved about —

the Mela area with lights end banners singing their own
compositions in which they poured out theirhearts—songs
of love, of devotion, of life’s varied emotional states
and experiences—even banter. But there was no trace
of personal jealousies or heart—burnings. Local raises
also arranged for special ‘nests’ in which professional
women singers gave their melodious performances, and
the populace refused to be kept out of these ‘nests’? even
when they were full. They insisted on listening to the
songs from the streets in front. Among the men profes-
sionals Bhairava and his pupil Ludkhud wete the craze.

The fair is still held and although more than a hun- ~

dred thousand persons — men, women, and children — take
part therein, the old glory has fled. It remains but a
shadow of its old self.

On this same day a spatial continuation of this fair
runs as far as the Ktimi Kund, where the Samadhi of

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A
te, x“
W REAN
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z NN O ee

FAIRS AND FESTIVALS 241

Baba Kinaram is the centre of activities. Thousands of
Sadhus belonging to the Avadhuta persuasion gather
there from all over Northern India and from Gujrat on
this day and thousands and thousands of Varanasi citizen
go there to offer their obeisance to the departed saint and
his present successor. Dancing girls of Varanasi gather
there in hundreds and sing there the whole night full of
the belief that their voice and art improve by the
blessings of the Saint.

21) The Lakshmi Kund Mela or the Sorahia Fair

The next day starts the famous Sorahia fair, so named
because it lasts for sixteen days, during which period it
attracts a total of more thana million visitors. House-
hold articles — specially those made of clay- were the
speciality before, and at present other articles have been
added thereto. ‘There are several hundred shops on the
sides of the streets throughout the entire route. The
last day is the most important, when thousands of people

take their bath in the sacred tank and offer their wor- —

ship to Maha Lakshmi — the Goddess of Wealth. -

An underground tunnel constructed centuries ago
runs from the Ganges upto this tank and brings Ganga

water to it during the high floods.
22) The Vamana Dvadashi

This festival falls on the twelfth Me E
of Bhadrapada and is celebrated as the ne
Lord Vamana’s birth. The Varana-Sangam is the sacia

spot for bathing and an image a
Keshava is worshipped in a nearby temple. In the eve

ing there is a fair at Chittra

16 | ; i
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day of the bright half

of the Lord Vamana —

kut, where a dramatic 22

242 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

representation of Vamana and Bali attracts thousands of
visitors — all men and boys.

23) Jivatputtika ot Juitia Festival

The last day of the Sorahiya fair synchronises with
another festival popularly known as Juitia which is a
corruption of Jivatputrika. On this day mothers keep
fast, going even without water, for the welfare of their
children, the fast running sometimes from 36 to 40 hours,
and worship the goddess on the banks of the Isvargangi
tank and also in several other places. A hundred and
fifty years ago there was a special tank for this festival
called the Juitia tank, a little north of the Reori Talab,
on the banks of which a fair used to be held. It has, how-
ever, been filled up and one can trace its existence now
only in Princep’s map. A large number of women also
celebrate this festival on the banks of the Lakshmi Kund
and misinformed persons sometimes erroneously connect
this with the worship of Mahalakshmi.

24) Durgapuja Festival

A week after Juitia start the Asvina Navaratras in which
the worship of Durga is the order of the day for nine
: days at a stretch as in the Chaitra Navaratra. ‘There is,
however, this speciality that the Bengalis celebrate it
as their most important festival of the year. Clay images
of Durga Devi, in extremely fine workmanship ranging
from 3 to 4 or even 5 feet in height, with elaborate
details, usually in the Mahisha-Mardini Dhyana are sancti-
fied in hundreds of places for public worship in addition
to several in private houses. They are worshipped for
nine days and on the Vijaya Dasami day (the tenth day)

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FAIRS AND FESTIVALS 243

they are taken to the Ganga at Dasasvamedha Ghat for
immersion. There is a crowd of at least fifty thousand

(generally much more) to witness this ceremonial
immersion. .

25) Ram Lila, Vijaya Dasami, and Bharat Milap

The next day after the Navaratras is the Vijaya Da-
sami — the Day of Victory of Rama over Ravana — of the
forces of Light over those of Darkness. It is a day of
rejoicing, when every one goes to meet friends -and
even those who had earlier parted in anger reunite in
forgiveness and love. (See picture)

The day after the Vijaya Dasami is the most celebrat-
ed day of the year in Varanasi. It is the day of Bharat ,
Milap at Nati Imli. The Ramlila has been running all these
days since the Anant Chaturdasi. Ravana has been slain
and Rama Chandra returns to Ayodhya, where he meets
his brother Bharat — who had been leading a life of aus-
terity for fourteen long years -and as the four brothers
meet in embrace the crowd shouts out Ram Chandra-ki-
Jai, Bharat Bhai ki Jai. It is a most soul-stitring scene
and there are about three lacs of visitors all packed up in
the narrow streets. ‘The faithful believe that the aura of
Ramchandra and his brothers descends on the dramatis
personae impersonating them on this occasion in this
place. |

The Maharajas of Benares have always attended this
Mela in full state, seated on an elephant, and have always
received the homage of the people of Varanasi with cries
of Hara Həra Mahadeva, which continues even oy) ge
inspite of all political changes.

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244 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Ramlilas hold an important place in the life of Vara-
nasi people. They are held in Varanasi in about forty
places all over the city and they all run the full gamut of
Rama’s life as depicted in the Ram-Charit-Manas of Tulsi-
das. It is believed that it was this saint, who started the
first Ramlila at Assiand his friend and pupil Megha Bhagat
carried the scheme formed. This particular Ramlila —
that of Nati Imli — was started by the latter. Every Ram-
lila attracts its local visitors and sight seets and each
one of them gathers a respectable crowd —but the Nati
Imli Ramlila is an altogether different matter. Although
the overpowering busyness of modern life has resulted
in thinning of the daily crowds — yet this Bharat Milap
. isa growing fair. It was called a Lakhi Mela fifty years
ago and today the number of visitors has swelled to
about three lacs. (See picture)

An interesting and inspiring incident occured in con-
nection with this Ram Lila in 1868 —a little over hundred
yeats ago. On that day the scene being enacted was
Hanuman’s going in search of Sita—across the ocean
to Lanka. The site was on the banks of the Varana
tiver near Chauka Ghat. Some European missionaries
lived in nearby bungalows and they considered this noisy
Ramlila a nuisance and wanted it to be removed from
that locality. So Rev. Macpherson one day took the
Collector there to demonstrate to him the inconvenience
caused by the noise and bustle. Mr. Bax was then the
Collector. Rey. Macphetson was acquainted with the
Story of the Ramayana and on learning that the scene that
day was “Search for Sita”, he fauntingly remarked that
s epumana had overjumped the ocean. Could the

acting” Hanuman not Overjump even the river Varanasi

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FAIRS AND FESTIVALS 245

The tone and temper of this banter was rather hard and
Tek Ram, who was personating Hanuman that day, was
stirred to the lowest depths of his heart. The river was
in comparative floods — though even at its lowest Varana
river cannot be overjumped by a man however powerful
he may be. The Hanuman’s temper rose, his muscles
tightened, and his face went crimson. The time for his
crossing the river, which represented the ocean for the
purposes of this Li/a had also arrived by now. He gave
a long shout and jumped, and, lo and behold, he had
actually overjumped the swollen river and had landed on
the other side. The Clergyman and the Collector wete
stunned and even overpowered with emotion. The
Hanuman was not hurt and was up again to perform his
further part. He was, however, a changed man there-
after and served his Master more ardently than before.
He lived through the Ramlila and followed his Lord on
the Bharat Milap ride —and then as the certain dropped on

the Bharat Milap scene — he was dead. He had gone to
serve his master for evermore, for on him had descended
the aura of the original Hanuman and the only abode =
him now was at the feet of his master Lord Ram wats

in Saketa. ‘The headgear worn by him through that

lila is still preserved in Narharipur temple and is given
due reverence.’

1. It is said that there is a mention of aes, = =e
Collectorate records of the time and a piniciee pe Tee
would be a great service. One thing, even S S
thenceforward the then Collectar took an ae : : ee
and provided all sorts of official facilities—and so tong s

the Collector, he became a regular visitor to the Lila.

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246 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

The Ram Nagar Ramlila

A word is also-called for at this stage about the Ram-
lila of Ramnagar, which enjoys an all-India fame. It
was started about 1830 A.n. by Maharaja Udit Narayan
Singh, who was a regular visitor to the Assi Ramlila and
who is said to have received the blessings of “Ram Chan-
dra” on one occasion — a blessing which resulted in saving
the life of the then Prince Isvari Prasad Narain Singh who
was critically ill. In gratitude, therefore, the Maharaja |
started a Ramlila at Ramnagar. ‘The Prince, on ascending
the Gaddi took personal interest in this matter and the
Ramlila went one better from year to year. Tens of
thousands of people used to go there regularly from
Varanasi for a month even in those old days when means
of transport were very troublesome. Indeed, hundreds
of people walked a distance of 16 miles going and coming
back, while hundreds took the risk of crossing the swollen.
Say on boats and returning the same way in darkness

It is not possible to describe the excellence, which is
still associated with this Ramlila. The Kashi Naresh is a
regular visitor and is there all the time the lila is on and
punctiliously looks to the comforts of the visitors. The
present Kashi Naresh Mahataja Dr. Vibhuti Narain

Singh takes keen personal i
nterest i .
well for its future. est in the lila, which augurs

Chetganj Nakkataiya

Just as the Bharat Milap of Nati Imli is famous, so is

the = 1 s >
Os Katalya os Chetg nj, which represents another
2e trom the Ram Charita Manas.. The fair is held on

the fourth night of Kartika and runs the whole night.

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FAIRS AND FESTIVALS 247

The festivities are now being modified after the fashion
of Allahabad Ramlila-processions and are quite attractive.
It is again one of those fairs which attract more than a
hundred thousand visitors.

Clay images of Rama, Lakshmana, Sita and Hanuman
in various designs and sizes are available throughout the
Ramlila period at all Ramlila centres.

26) Dhan Teras, Hanumanjayanti,and Diwali Festivals

On the thirteenth day of Kartik falls the Dhan Teras.
Tt is the first unit of Diwali celebrations and is famous for
the display of metal utensils in the shops at Thatheri
Bazar, Kashipura, and elsewhere. It is a sight which
should not bemissed bya visitor to Varanasi, if he happens
to be here on this day — for no other city in Northern India
can boast of such a display. In the last century, when-
ever on august personage visited Varanasi, the authorities
got the Thatheri Bazar fitted up inthe Dhan Teras style
and the visitor was taken round to havealookat it. This
happened in 1876 and in 1883. Those were the days of
joint families in India, which required big pots and pans,
and regular towers and gates were constructed with these
shining brass vessels in great artistic taste. On the
Dhan Teras day it is customary for every householder to
purchase some utensil and so in those days bigger pots
were purchased for the family. The families are now

broken up and the prices have rocketted sky high (twenty

itty ti Id prices). The average householder
panes Re 1 utensils and unless

_ is now too poor to purchase rea
hardpressed maintains the tra
and small cups.

CC-0. Mumukshu Bhawan Varanasi Collection. Digitized by eGangotri

a a”

dition by purchasing spoons

~ aS
ae os
» 3 . q «
=> Da: "5
, =e - &
oS Fe Te
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248 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

On this day also falls the anniversary of the birth of
Kashiraj Dhanvantari, the father of the Ayurvedic system
of medicine, and he is worshipped in the homes and
clinics of all Ayurvedic physicians in Varanasi.

The next morning is celebrated the visit of Hanuman
to Ayodhya informing Bharat of the safe return of Rama
Chandra after his fourteen years of exile, and in that tra-
dition Hanuman is worshipped on this day. Early in the
morning the waning crescent of the moon is also wor-
shipped after a ceremonial bath in the home.

Diwali falls the next day. Its very name suggests
its being the festival of light — on which night every house
is decorated with rows of lighted lamps and the bigger
buildings look exceedingly beautiful. Lakshmi and Kali
are the patron Goddesses of this festival, and the Bengalis
celebrate the Kali Puja with as much fervour as the
Durga Puja. Gambling with cowries was very much
ptevalent formerly and was permitted by Government
for two days: but has since been stopped.

Display of toys in a grand way is a speciality of these
festivals and beautiful toys are on display during these
three days — and toy-shops are worth seeing. Most people
purchase images of Lakshmi and Ganesh for wotshipping
in their shops and homes at night. Children also geta
good supply of toys for their own play. It would be
interesting to know that clay-toys in general and images
of Lakshmi and Ganesha in particular are exported
from Varanasi to all important towns in Northern India
even as far as Calcutta.

Toys made of sugar candy ate also on saleand are put-
chased for presentation to children of friends and rela-

tions along with other sweetmeats. Parched tice in the

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FAIRS AND FESTIVALS 249

form of Lavas, 9 Churas, or Pharuhis and Makka-lavas
have their own importance on this occasion, and moun-
tains of these commodities were arranged in front of
shops in the good old days when things were cheap.
These mountains have since grown smaller and smaller in
successive’ years till today there are not even ‘mounds’
on display for sale.

The day after Diwali falls the Annakuta festival,
‘when most of the temples and Vaishnava families cele-
brate it enthusiastically. The Visvanath temple, how-
sever, carries the palm in this matter and Gopal Mandir is
usually an equal compeer in this glory. This festival is
observed in these two temples for two different reasons.
In the Visvanath temple it perpetuates the celebrations on
Siva’s return to Varanasi after being exiled from there by
Divodas. A temple made entirely of laddus is constructed
over Vaikunthesvara in the central hall of Visvanath
temple, and thousands of brass plates and mountains of
sweetmeats ate arranged on this occasion. Lacs of
people visit the temple on this day and the foodstuff after
being offered to the Lord is distributed among the devotees
as ‘Prasada’ the next day. .

At Gopal Mandir and other Vishnu temples and in
Vaishnava families it represents the anniversary of the
day on which Lord Krishna supplanted the worship
of Indra by a worship of Govardhana Parvata neat Ma-
thura. The devotees try to prepare as many varieties of
foodstuff as possible and offer them tothe deity, the gh
ber of dishes reaching as many as three hundred in some
-well-to-do Vaishnava families.

Hundreds of varieties of- cla}
throughout the first three days O

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ay toys ate available 5
f this festival, images

250 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

of Lakshmi, Ganesh, and Hanuman being purchased by
most people. 4:

The next day falls the Yama-Dwitiya when people
take bath at the Yama Tirtha near the Sankatha Ghat
and worship the Yamesvara or Yamadharmesvara nearby.
On this day the sisters insist on their brothers dining at
theirs. es

Thus the Dipawali or Diwali festival lasts for five
days, and apart from the religious and social functions
connected therewith it is also a festival of sweetmeats for
which Varanasi has been ever famous. In the good old
days, right upto the twenties of this century, Varanasi
sweets were lasting and could be kept for a fortnight or
more without deterioration — and so they were exported
to other cities even as far as Kathmandu in Nepal. ` The
number of shops in those days was smaller, and the better
ones among them specialised in one or two varieties
and in them they obtained an outstanding reputation.
Thus Das Halwai of Bibihatia was famous for his Pedas
and Gupchups, also Besan-ka-laddus. The Pedas could-be
éasily kept for a month without any diminishing of taste.
The special variety which was exported to the Royal

family of Nepal by a special messenger everyday could

be keptforseveralmonths. The Motichur of Purushottam
Sahu of Siddhesvari and Magdal of Rama Sahu also of
Bibihatia, along with Jhagi-Barfi of Khubi Sahu, also
of Siddheswari, were equal contestants for glory. Apart
from Magdal and Besan-ka-laddu the entire scheme of
Varanasi sweets was entirely non-cereal. Things have
since changed : quite a dozen new varieties have been
developed, and they are good — much better than those
produced in-any other town of Northern India includin g

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FAIRS AND FESTIVALS 251

Lucknow and Delhi; but the old glory is fled. Till
thirty years ago sweetmeats were comparatively cheap,
selling for less than a rupee per seer, and the average
householder purchased Sime of it every day for the
children. During the Diwali, sweetmeat shops were
decorated not only with Tights and buntings but also
with sweets of different colours arranged in various ways —
pictures of Lakshmi and Ganesha being framed with
Sweetmeats in a variety of shapes, and their purchase
continued for a fortnight. Today their prices have gone
up atleast twelve to sixteen times and the householder is
much too poor to afford them except on rare occasions
like Diwali.

27) Krishna Lila of Tulsi Ghat

Krishna Lila was also started along with Ramlila by
Goswami Tulsi Das at Assi. It is celebrated on the river
bank at Tulsighat and lasts for a little more than a fort-
night, the most famous incident being the Nagnathaiya—
the scene in which Krishna jumped into the Yamuna
infested by a large snake and subdued it. Itis one of the
most famous fairs of Varanasi and attracts over a lakh of
visitors. Scantiness of space, however, is its greatest handi-
cap as it is enacteed on the ghat itself and visitors can
watch it either from the ghat steps or from boats. A
Kadamba tree is planted on the banks of the river and a
small boy acting as Krishna jumps from on the top of it
into the Ganga, and soonafter appears standing on the
hood of a giant snake, whom he has conquered in fight
under the water, and plays onhis flute. The representation
is very realistic and the ‘faithful’ believe that the aura of
Sri Krishna descends on the little boy on this occasion.

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252 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

28) Kartiki Purnamasi

Finally comes the Kartiki Purnima, with myriads of
lighted lamps floating on the river-face and slowly moving
in vatied formations. The stone Dipavalis at the Bindu
Madhava Ghat with a thousand sockets to hold the lamps
are lighted on this night. This is the most sacred day
of Kartika, and is also the day on which Kartikeya or
Skanda is specially worshipped. There is also the
famous Mukki fight, already described in an earlier
chapter, at the Durga Ghat on this day at which young
men show their fighting mettle — only fists being used as
the weapons of offence and defence.

29) Bhairavashtami | .

The eighth day of Margashirsha or Agrahayana, marks
the annivetsary of Kala Bhairava’s appearance on earth
and is celebrated with very great enthusiasm. On this day
at noon the image of Kala Bhairava is exposed to public
view. The apron is removed and the worshippers have _
an opportunity of seeing the deity in his vermillion
splendour. It is a very oldicon, perhaps belonging to the
pte-muslim period or to the middle of the thirteenth
century at the latest, and has been so repeatedly smeared
with red-lead that the details are not very clear, but Bhai-
tava stands akimbo, with one of his feet resting on a dog
and his right hand holds a /risu/a. Milling crowds of
ladies in the morning and of men in the evening offer
their worship, andin the night the templeis verily a
fairyland of gorgeous display and lights.

30) Pishacha Mochana Yatra or Lota-Bhanta Fair

On the twenty ninth day of Agahan (Margashirsha),
not on the fourteenth as mentioned by Sherring, there

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FAIRS AND FESTIVALS S3

e u

s A E S s Ai te} 3 r > . .
is & fare at the Pishacha Mochan tank = popularly krowa
y vet .

Lota-Bnanta Mela. It was started by one Lorum Bhar
several centuries ago and the namehas since been corrupt-
ed as Lota-Bhanta, Incidentally, along with the name
a symbolic ceremonial has sprung up of offering briajals

ay pots to the presiding deity at the place. A large

adish outof themand eat it with rotisalso cooked on the
spot. Thistankis sacred to thememory ofa saint Valmiki
(Not to be confused with Valmiki the author of she
Ramayana), who lived on the top ofa nearby mound sz
known as Walmiki-ka-tila, where a Shiva-lingam cons
crated by him still exists..

51) Badari Narayan Yatra

Pausha is 4 bald month and rung its cowse vareticod
SEB icten «fees 4 4 ee E N A eT oP esr
ull on the Purnima d ay Badari Natai ss WOME QR
t ‘

the top of the Mahatha Ghat, Quite a WERRs Gore,
gathers there on this day in Which Worms aad CHES

z ya See a eS
predominate. ‘Ihe Maplia Snana begiis oh ThS gap ai

32) Ganesh Chaturthi Fair

Thetnonth of Magli opens with a Vere eres Shhh:
fourth day, on which Maharaja Vinavaks panes J
known as Bara Gatiesh) is worshipped. Tr Hs Witte Ue Be
Most populous faits of the year atid almost 4 TAM CSRS
Offer their obeisance there on this day. W Ye SS,
Students offered special worship and Weir iai
vigil praying for leattiliig atid Wisdom.

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254 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Clay images of Ganesh in various forms and sizes are
available and quite a large number of persons take one
home for continued worship.

33) Vedavyasa Fair |

Every Monday in Magha is sacred to Veda Vyasa’s
worship but the last one is specially important. On these
days people of Varanasi go to Ram Nagar and offer their
obeisance to Vyasesvara in the Ram Nagar Fort of the
Maharaja of Benares. This is the original site, where the
present lingam was consecrated by Maharaja Balwant
Singh, the original having been destroyed in 1194 a. D.
The first re-consecration was, however, effected in a
nearby village where a largesized Shiva-lingam attracts

a crowd and is known as Bare-Vedavyasa. This lingam
is interesting from the archaeological viewpoint also
. because only one other of this shape and size exists in
Varanasi (Langalisvara in Khoa-gali: House No.Ck.
28/4) as representative of the first reconstruction after
1194 A.D. -all others having been demolished repeatedly
thereafter. These escaped because of their non-osten-
tatious existence. ‘This fair is a day long affair for people
going from Varanasi and they either carry. their food
with them or cook it there in a sort of picnic after they
have worshipped Vedavyasesvara.

34) Vasanta Panchami Festival

This heralds the approach of spring and on this day
{20th day of Magha) people offer yellow Dupattas to
Lord Siva and put on similar garments themselves.
Formerly thousands of persons, men and women, could
be seen so dressed. Flowers of mango and yellow mari-
golds are the chief offerings to Visvanath on this day.

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“r

FAIRS AND FESTIVALS 255

Ladies keep fast and worship Siva and Parvati at home.
The worship continues but the rhythmic effulgence of
spring fails to exhilarate the spirit even of the Varanasi
citizen. So difficult has life become.

35) Maghi Purnima Fair

On the last day of Magh thereis a great bathing festival
at Dasasvamedha Ghat, where sixty to seventy thousand
persons take their bath and offer worship at the Prayag-
esvara Sivalingam (now mistakenly called Brahmesvatra).

36) Shiva Ratri Festival
On the fourteenth day of Phalguna falls Shiva-ratri,

the most sacred day for the worship of Siva—the patron-

god of Varanasi—and in consequence every Siva temple

in the city is the centre of a fair, with the result that the
entire city of Varanasi is one big fair on this day and peo-
ple in thousands move from one temple to another and

offer worship at all of them, the effort being tẹ visit as

many temples as possible. The important ones are not
missed by anyone. There are separate groups of impott-

ant temples according to the Puranas and each one of
them receives homage from thousands of people on this
day. Itisaday offastand worship — the latter continuing
` throughout the night in practically all temples and in

most Shaivahouses. The Visvanatha temple is obviously

the cynosure of every person and several lakhs of people
visit it in the course of the day and quite a large number
spend the night there in worship.
37) Rangbhari Ekadasi

Thirteenth day after Shivaratri falls the Amalaki Eka-
dasi, popularly known as Rangbhari Ekadasi. Thousands

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256 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

of people offer Abir and Gulal (red and crimson powders)
to Lord Visvanatha on this day and later throw it on one-
another. ‘This is the day of Holi for the temples and peo-
ple enter into the Holi— spirit from this day onwards.
Formerly that exhilarant s pirit continued till Burhwa
Mangal — but that is a story of the good old days, the
hardships of present day life are knocking all conviviality
out of people’s lives — and the world-renowned festival of
Burhwa Mangal is now only a matter of history.

38) Holi Festival

Holi or colour festival, as it is called outside India,
falls on the last day of Phalguna. It is a festival par
excellence. ‘The farmer sees his fields of gold waving in
the dry air and ripening and his heart isfullof joy. There
is this feeling of well-being in every breast in the villages —
and in the cities too tradition generates exhuberance of
spirit in spite of all hardships of the present day life. In
the morning people go to Dalbhyesvara atop the Man
Mandir Ghat and in the evening sacred fires are lit in a
thousand places all over the city, and thousands and
thousands of persons offer their obeisance at these fires.
“Till fifty years ago the celebrations on this day also consist-
ed of hundreds of musical groups going about singing
“‘Khamsas” and proceeding towards Dal Mandi. Each
such group had a complement of one player on Dholak
(small drum), two players of Sitar, half a dozen singers and
a dozen of their supporters. These groups -stopped on the
streets every fifty orhundred yards, sang one or two songs —
and then moved forward, wending their way towards
chowk via Nai Sarak and Dalmandi, and by midnight the
entire area between Bansphatak, Rani Kuan, Kachorigali,

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FAIRS AND FESTIVALS } 257

Thatheri Bazar, Chowkhambha and Dalmandi were ©
packed to -capacity by these singing groups, and
interested citizens, who gathered there to enjoy Khamsa
music. Officials and Raises of the town interested in
music collected in Babu Gopinath’s Kothi in Kunjeali.
This music continued practically till noon the’ next day,
and was.unaffected by and ‘safe’ from the colour-throwing
going on over the rest of the town. ‘The special feature
of this music festival was that the Muslims joined it
wholeheartedly and the most famous Khamsa party was
headed by Tegh Ali, who’sang Khamsas_ of his own comi-
position dealing mostly with Varanasi’s. oonda life. But
this is now only a story, the entire ‘scheme of things having
come to an.end and but for those, who had-seen it, no one
knows.that such a music programme on such a vast scale
ever took place in Varanasi, not once but year after year.

The next morning revelry breaks loose in the town.
Boys and young men armed.-with syringes and buckets
of coloured water gather at street corners and pour coloured
water on the passers by. There is no resentment and no
anger at all and every one tries to enjoy the fun; which
continues unabated till midday, when ghouly figures with
dernoniacal faces return homeforabath. Intheafternoon
people put on clean clothes and armed with pouches of
Abir and Gulal visit their friends and relations arid apply
the red powderto their forheads, and embrace one another,
Even minor enmities are forgiven and forgotten on this
occasion and friendships re-established.. In the evening
. people start for the Dasasvamedha Ghat for the Chausat-
thi fair—to pay their homage to Chausatthi Devi on the
top of the Chausatthi Ghat, who represents the sixtyfour
Yoginis, once installed in the Rana Mahal nearby. ‘While —

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258 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

moving towards the Dasasvamedha Ghat on'this occasion
people formed singing groups in the good old days, and
these groups formed large processions in which the res-
pectable mingled freely with the rustic and the lowly.
On the way they received welcome and abir-throwing at
several places. Hundreds ofsinging parties moved about
in that area — singing Holi’s songs till the small hours of
the morning and finished with a couple of Chaitis in the
Bhairavi Ragini in the early morning of the next day.
Most of the foreigners writing about Holi have not men-
tioned the social aspect of this festival and the mass music
programmes spontaneously organised on the occasion.
‘Changing values and westernised sense of proprieties
has almost killed the socialisation programme involved in
these festivities and today the Holi celebrations consist
merely of throwing coloured water (even ordinary water
because colours have become so costly) on the passerby
and shouting obscenities galore.

39) Buthwa Mangal

At present Holi festivities come to an end after the
Chaussatthi fair but till 1922 the chapter was not closed,
for people ardently looked forward to the approaching
festival of Burhwa Mangal nine or ten days ahead at the
most. This latter festival was as unparalleled in the
world as the Varanasi river-front itself and in reality it was
the festival of the River-front or the River.

Since the times of Tulsidas it was customary on the
last Tuesday of the Samvat year for people to get into
boats and proceed towards the Assi Ghat where they got
down offered theit obeisance to Goddess Durga and
Sankat Mochan, and returned by the boat to their

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a> *
Pg”

wer. `
LO TIVES ?

FAIRS AND FESTIVALS 259

home-ghats. Musicformed an essential part of this trip and
each boat had its complement of musicians ,;whose sonorous
songs filled the air over the entire river area. About
1735, when Mir Rustam Ali was the Governor of
Varanasi he made efforts to introduce some sort of an
organisation in this matter. This was the beginning of
the Burhwa Mangal fair. There is a controversy about this
matter. Some people give credit for this organisation
to Maharaja. Chet Singh and not to Rustam Ali, but it
seems cettain that the . process of organisation. started
before Chet Singh, though he gave the final touches to
it and the Burhwa Mangal fair took its historical shape
in his day. .

To get into details, quite a week before the last Tues-
day of the Samvat year the Varanasi people started pre-
patations for decorating boats. The well-to-do had
larger boats, and the middle-class man contented himself
with smaller crafts. ‘These boats were provided with
tasteful canopies from which cut-glass candelabras and
‘chandeliers were suspended. Colourful buntings and
multicoloured lights enhanced their appearance. Beauti-
ful carpets were spread on them. The decorations were
as elaborate as ingenuity of the craftsmen could make them
and it is said that hundreds of rupees were spent on the
decoration of one boat in many cases and this amount
swelled upto a thousand and more in the case of the
larger crafts. There was a spirit of competition and
rivalry in the matter, which impelled an ever increasing
effort to produce the best boat of the year. On the day
that the festival opened these boats were spread along
the ghats from the Panchaganga ghat to the Assi ghat—
several layers deep. .On hundreds of them were

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260 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

musical parties at which dancing girls gave their perfor-
mances. Hundreds of other boats carried sweetmeats
and betel shops, and yet others were full of revellers, who
took part in the festival for enjoyment alone. Hundreds
and thousands of boats were brought to Varanasi from
nearby districts in this connection. So did hundreds of
musical parties and dancing girls. In addition to these
individual boats, eight or ten large boats were fastened
together and decorated as one unit and on this there
was constant music and dancing for the general en-
tertainment. The entire ghat area was packed with visi-
tors dispersed with shops of sweetmedats, toys, betel-
leaves and what not. (See illustration) ;

The beginning of the fair was marked by the arrival
of Thakurji on one of the famous boats of His Highness
the Maharaja of Benares — the Morpankhi or Ghordaur —
in the evening, and He was greeted with mass music from
all the boats simultaneously—and this continued upto
late in the morning: Ordinarily the fair continued for
three days but was occasionally extended by another day.
Early in the evening of the last day H. H. the Maharaja
-artived in a well-decorated boat and after moving about
in the fair for some time he waved the Mela with his
hands to move along with him to Ram Nagar, and the
; flotilla followed him there, the last night of the festival
being spent at the Ramnagar bank of the Ganga, where
thousands of persons welcomed this gtand assemblage.
It was now called the Dangal festival. |

This festival had no parallel in the world and with its

extinction during the first World War, Varanasi lost its -

most popular and artistic festival of the year. Efforts
were made several times to revive it, but due to the

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FAIRS AND FESTIVALS 261

ever-increasing cost of living and consequent poverty of
the common man, they met with no success. Indeed the.
spirit of enjoyment and revelry which formed the founda-
tion stone of this and other festivals in Varanasi has
suffered grievously owing to the rising prices during the
last fifty years.

40) Gulab Bari

There used to be also another festival a fortnight or
so later — in the second fortnight of the Samvat year. It
was an individualistic affair and concerned only the well-
to-do citizens of Varanasi and their friends. It was called
Gulab-bari, and consisted of musicalparties in the gardens
of the richer citizens, in which the music room was de-
corated with roses, rose-garlands, and rose buds in their-
multicoloured radiante and the entire place was heavy
with rose perfume. ‘The function started in the after-
` noon when the popular Varanasi drink- Thandai — was
served. ‘This was followed with sweetmeats and other
delicacies, culminating with the famous Varanasi betel
Then followed music the whole night in which the Chaiti
songs petvaded the atmosphere. Some people also
arranged for Shahnai music on these occasions, which
played Chaiti songs too !

41) ‘The Solar and Luvar Eclipses

These heavenly events invite quite fifty thousand
persons from nearby villages for a bath in the Ganga.
[ See Illustration. ]

42) Pyala-ka-Mela

Apart from these religious festivals there is. at least
one festival which is neither respectable nor moral, It

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262 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

‘is called Pyala-ka-Mela and is observed.at Shivapur and
Chowkaghat in the month of Margashirsha (Agrahayan)
and lasts for one day. Men, women and children, young
and old allattend itand indulgein undiluted and organised
drinking. They drink till they have lost control over
themselves. Even little boys are given alcoholic drinks
as ““Prasada”. Pir-worship is also an essential part of it.
Formerly this was predominently a fair of the Dharkars,
who exhibited andsold theirhandiwork in bamboos. Later
on persons belonging to other scheduled castes began to
join it and now it has become a predominantly Dhobi
festival. Fifty years ago martiages of the lower strata
of society were contracted in this fair and occasionally they
were also performed there — but all this has changed and
the fair is now an example of unmitigated debauchery.
43) The Buddhists and Jainis too have their own
festivals, which they celebrate with eclat. The birthday
of Buddha, and the day he preached his first sermon at

Sarnath are the chief festivals of the Buddhists. The Jainis -

observe the birthdays of Saints Parasnath and Mahavir
and there are processions of Jaina images on certain occa-
-sions. The Sikhs have their own festivals which are
observed with great enthusiasm and the procession of
Guru Granth Saheb is remarkable for its grandeur. The
birthdays of Guru Nanak and Guru Govind Singh are
also celebrated in grand style. |

The Muslims of Varanasi have their’ own festivals.
In addition to the four principal festivals they also observe
Bara-wafat, Alvida, Chehlum and othet religious festivals.
There is also a non-religious Muslim festival called Ghazi-
miyan-ka-byaha (the marriage of Ghazi Miyan), which is
held on the first Sunday of the Hindu month of Jyestha.

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FAIRS AND FESTIVALS 263

On this day there is a fair at the replica tomb of Syed
Salar Masud Ghazi, popularly known as Ghazimiyan,
which lasts the whole day — the afternoon being spent in
mass kite-flying. Respectable persons are as a rule absent
from this fair, and only persons belonging to the lower
strata of society both Hindus and Muslims take part in it.
There is a great deal of Dafali-music, which sends some
women into hysterical trance and ecstasy and they make
prophesies and give blessings to persons, who try to
propitiate them at the time.

The Christians too observe their Chritmas and’ Easter
festivals with eclat, and the Roman Catholics hold their
“masses”? too in addition.

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| .. CHAPTER 11
z THE RIVER FRONT

“Arise ! the breath of life has come back to us-

the darkness is gone, the light approacheth |’? (Rigveda).

- Some such feeling overpowers us if we were to watch
the early dawn gradually lifting the veil of darkness, -and the
rising sun shedding its earliest gold on the river front at
Varanasi—the great amphitheatre “glittering in the
sunlight” like “a vast sun-temple, the priests, the Brah-
mans who are muttering the holiest of their wantras, — the
Priestesses the women whose Saris repeat the colours of
thedawn fast fading nowin white light of the day; votive
offerings, the golden marigolds and rose-petals, which
are piled in baskets-on the ghat steps, and float on the
surface of the water”. ‘Thus describes Havell — the great
art critic— the Varanasi river-front as he watches it in the
early morning of January.

The Varanasi river front has no parallel in the world,
the nearest approach — Venice —is left far far behind, the
picturesqueness ofthe former being altogether wanting
there. “Tt is not the artistic excellence of the details, but
the grouping of the whole, the extent, the very hetero-
genousness of the buildings, the quaint irregularities, the
_ Tulnous patches, the temples and the trees ; all these and
many other features contribute to make the complete
view, one which stands quite alone, and possibly could

not besutpassed inthe whole world for genuine pictures- -

queness” ( Greaves = Kashi th * P
Benares - p. 32), e City Illustrious or

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: m
-

i Fen
+ oe

THE RIVER `FRONT: - 265

This. pariorama, however, is- soulless .without the
morning crowds, which make the picture complete and -
-give it life—and light too | uty EnA RAN

Princep, the great Collector of Varanasi from 1820 to
1830 has given an even better description of this soul-
stirring scene. |

“This splendid stream forms a bay, indenting” the
front of the town, so as to display its picturesque beauties
to great advantage. Indeed there are few objects more
lively and exhilarating than the scene from the edge of the
opposite sands, on a fine afternoon, under the clear sky of
January. The music and bells of a hundred temples strike
the eat with magic melody from the distance, amidst
the buzz of human voices; and every now and then the
flapping of pigeons’ wings is heard as they risefrom their
crates on the housetops, or whirl in close phalanx round
the minarets, or alight with prisoners from a neighbours’
flock. At the same time the eye rests on the vivid colours
of the different groups of male and female bathers with
their sparkling brass water-vessels, or follows the bulls as
they wander in the crowds in proud exercise of the right
of citizenship, munching the chaplets of flowers liberally
presented to them. ‘Then, as night steals on, the scene
changes, and the twinkling of lamps along the water's
edge, and the funeral fires and white curling smoke,
and the stone buildings lit up by the moon, present fea-
tures of variety and blended images of animation, which
it is out of the artist’s power to embody. He may give in
detail the field upon which these scenes of life are enacted,
but the spectator’s imagination must supply the rest.”

Speaking of the bathers in the holy river Havell has
exceeded himself. Hesays “Itis as a microcosm of Indian

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266 VARANASI DOWN THE. AGES

life, customs, and popular beliefs that it furnishes a never-
ending fascination. Here the student may read a living
commentary, more convincing than any record ever writ-
ten, painted, or sculptured, of the life of ancient Egypt,
Babylon, Nineveh, and Greece. Here the artist may see
before him in the flesh models of classic sculptors and
painters, which might have served for the Parthenian
prize, the statuettes of Tangera, and frescoes of Pompii.
There is anindescribable charm of colour in the throng of
women on the ghats, and in the streets — the rainbow
tinted cotton saris of the United Provinces, with their
vatied shades of lemon, rose and the palest blue, con-
trasting with the simple white of Bengal, and the deeper
notes of indigo, crimson, orange, and chestrnut from the
rich silks of the Deccan and South India” (Benares the
Sacred City by E. B. Havell p. 81).

These are the views of Englishmen looking at the
ghats from the western angle. We may now see what
oriental writershave to say about them. ~

Ali Hazeen, the Iranian citizen and poet mentioned
earlier, describes thescene as follows. He says “Fairy —
like beauties proceed for the worship of Mahadeva, with a
thousand. wonderful graces. They bathe in the Ganga
_ and tub their feet on stones. How exalted is that stone

and how holy is the Ganga, (in whose waters they bathe
their beautiful bodies.)
7 And here are the views of the famous poet Ghalib ;
AA A a a preserve Banaras the
It is a place of worship for BS e eee ae
Reade att 3 ringers of bells and the
ieee : le ght of beauty (of thepretty damsels)
ss : © ule name on the Tur mountain. It is one ©

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THE RIVER FRONT 267

divine brightness from head to foot. May it be safe from
evil eye ! Their waists are tender and fragile but their
hearts are firm and strong. They are innocent but clever
in their work. Their smile captivates the heart and
their faces put the spring roses to shame. The graceful
movements of their bodies and the tenderness of their
slow steps seem to spread a crop of roses where they tread.
Their beauty, bright as fire, smothers the voice of the
idolatrous Brahmin and makes him dumb, while their
frolics in the water (of the Ganga while bathing) seem
like waves of fragile pearls, but their graces are warmet
than the blood in a lover’s heart. When they descend
on the Ganga bank a whole garden seems to fill the place .
and a myriad lights seem to appear, so bright and fair are
their faces. Every wave produced by them while bathing
seems to carry the aura of their graces. These beauties
with large eye-lashes seem to bring down the heavens
and they seem to be shooting arrows on peoples’ hearts
with them. They have quietened the waves of Ganga by
their gaiety and smoothened her waters by their beauty.
Their frolics in water make a hundred hearts flutter like
a fish ( out of water). When they enter the water over-
powered by the brilliance of their beauty, they look like
pearls inside the oyster, and even Ganga gives them an
inviting welcome with her wavelets to gather them in
her bosom.” |

The Ganga is not a mere river, it is the holiest of the
holy and is the centre of Varanasi worship. Most of | those
who go to her for a bath have the feeling of sacredness in
‘their hearts and while there they also worship their God
with various forms of prayers and ceremonies. There
will be seen persons worshipping the Sun or offering the

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- 268 ~ VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

holy waters to their ancestors, or busy in repeating some —
_ mystic words of a Mantra. Some will be decorating their
forheads and persons with saffronated sandal-paste or with
red Kunkum. Yet others would: be found applying
ashes to their foreheads in rows of three horizontal bands,
and each one of these has in his heart the feeling that he
has already washed away his sins by the dip in the holy
waters — and thus lightened of the weight on their souls,
they start the backward journey home.

The ghats with the temples on their tops represent the
philosophy of Hindu life in a tangible form. They.give
itaconcreteshape. Adipin the holy waters ‘has cleansed
not only their bodies but also their souls of all that is
dross and dirty- and for the moment they are free from -
the trammels of worldliness — and as the individual SO
purified goes up step by step, gasping for breath but eager
in spirit, he is passing through the throes of penance;
and as he pauses on the top— on the threshold of the tem-
ple where his Lord sits enshrined to receive him with
Open arms, his is a happiness of the spirit — not the gross
joyfulness Of the flesh — and as he bows before his creator
in the temple, one among a thousand others beside him,
his happiness knows no bounds. He is the happiest of
the happy- for has he not achieved the final bliss — an
audience with his Lord! Later on as he. emerges from
the temple, dreary thoughts of mundane existence crowd
around him. It is his second birth — a fresh descent into
the sordid world.

3 This is one aspect of life with the ghats in the epicentre.
There is also another more Practical and materialistic.
ae 1s also gjercar highway for trade. Indeed

mmerce of Varanasi in ancient times depended

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THE RIVER FRONT 269

on the river transport — and journeys over her waters
covered the entire breadth of the Indian sub-continent
from East to West as has been shown in the chapter on
commerce. Even with present conveniences of road and
rail transport some of the ghats of Varanasi still play
their part and provide landing ground for: stones from
the quarries of the Vindhyas or fire-wood from its forests.
Till about a hundred years ago — before the railway system
had got into full stride- steamers used to ply between
Varanasi and Calcutta and later on upto Patna, carrying
both goods and passengers.

Tt would thus be seen that the role of these ghats is an
important one in the life of Varanasi people. They give
them joy and spiritual exaltation while alive, and provide
them with a holy place for cremation after death — for it
is at one of these ghats in the neighbourhood of Mani-
karnika, the Jalasayi ghat, where Lord Siva delivers the
Taraka Mantram, which ensures deliverance from the
melancholy cycle of rebirth.

To come to details, there are more than eighty units of
these stony structures with regular steps leading down to
the water edge and each of these, called a ghat, has an
individuality of its own. Most of them were built in the
eighteenth century- though the earliest stone-work
construction was done as early as 1302, that of Manikar-
tika Ghat as we shall presently see. In the seventeenth
century and earlier most of them were kutcha, except two `
or three, viz. Manikarñika, Panchaganga and perhaps
Adikeshava; and for the present magnificent sight of a
continuous amphitheatre of stone-steps extending for
about three miles, Varanasi is beholden to the Peshva

and other Maharashtra chiefs, chieftains, and even their se

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270 = VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Ministers, and citizens of Poona and other cities of the
Maharashtra State. | .

Formerly the ghats bore the name of the Tirtha over
which they stood: Such 99 tirthas are mentioned in the
Puranas over the entire length of the Ganga from Assi
ghat to Varana-Sangam. Of these 25 are crowded bet-
ween Varana-Sangam and Rajghat — and there are no ghats
there and the tirthas have been forgtten except for their
descriptions in the Kashi Khand. Rajghat is the Mahi-
shasur Tirtha and there is a temple of this Asura (a demon
whom Goddess Durga killed). Prahladghat is the Vana
Tirtha, after which comes Go-pratara at the: Nayaghat
(formerly called Phuta-ghat), The Trilochan ghat is
the Pilippila, and just before it the Pishangila. Mahatha
ghat is Nara-narayan Tirtha to be followed by Gaighat
which is Nagesvara Tirtha. Rajmandir Pushta stands
above the Karnaditya Tirtha, with an image of Karnaditya
onits top at Rajmandir. Brahmaghat is Bhairava Tirtha.
Durgaghat takes its name from the temple of Brahma-
chatini Durga, which stands atop it. Narsingha-Darha
represents the Kharva Nrisinha Tirtha, while Konia ghat
portion of the Panchaganga Ghat is the site of the Pancha-
nada -Tirtha. Ramghat is the RamaTirtha, and -the
Vighnesvara Ghat or Gan:sh Ghat that of Vighnesvara
Tirtha. Opposite the famous temple of Sankathaji is the
Harih chandra Mandap, which marks the northern boundary
of the Manikarnika Kunda. This Kunda was a very
narrow ravine almost a mile in length. Its southern top
oe the Ganga Mahal Ghat, south of the Chausatthi
ceil aa cael es z a =
SAR at the Manikarnika Ghat,
W. Presents the place where its subsoil stream appears

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THE RIVER FRONT 271

in the present Chakra-pushkarini Kunda. It was this
stream which filled the Manikarnika Kund over its entire
length in the hoary past. Further south-is the Lalita
Tirtha at Lalita Ghat and Visalakshi and Jarasandha
Tirthas at Mirghat. Next comes the Ghora ghat (now
named Rajendra Prasad Ghat) which is the Prayaga Tirtha
and marks the location where the Bharasivas performed
their ten Horse-sacrifices. A subsoil stream joins the
Ganga at this spot also. Right up to the end of the
eighteenth century there existed a stone-horse at this spot
to mark these sacrifices but about that time ora little later
it was “collected” by the British Officers along with other
carved stones. Some people, however, aver that it was
removed from here to save it from being washed away
during the floods and it was fixed near the Sankat Mo-
chan Temple, where it still survives. The Dasasvamedha
Ghat has been named to represent this set of Ashva-
medhas — and not those attributed to Brahma, the site of
which is marked by the Ahalyabai Ghat, at which the
Rudrasat Tirtha is situated, on the banks of which Brah-
ma’s Yajnas were performed according to Kasi Khand.
Sherring mentions that inhis day there was a pond some-
where there in which people took their bath along with a
bath in the Ganga. Next comes the Ranamahal and
Chausatthi Ghats covering the Yogini Tirtha followed by
the Ganga Mahal Ghat representing the Gangaditya and
Gangakesava Tirthas and the original site of the Ganga
Kesava ‘Temple.

The above description provides the location of impor-
tant ‘Tirthas but does not mention the temples on the top
of these ghats, which usually lent their names to the ghats
also. ‘These temples were demolished in 1194 A. D. and

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272 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

quite several of them were re-consecrated at other places
and carried the name of their original ghats with them to
their new location — and their old sites were in course of
time. forgotten. Yet later, important persons, who built
the ghats transferred their own names thereto and thus we
have so many ghats named after individuals. To illustrate
these points, Somesvara Temple shifted from the present
Pande Ghat to near Manmandir Ghat and carried with it
the name of Somesvaraghat or Prabhasa Tirtha to that
‘locality. Somesvar. Ghat itself became Pande Ghat after
the name of an individual and a portion of it became
Babua Pande Ghat. Some ghats—new ones—took the
name of their builders from the very start e.g. Lal Ghat,
Raja Ghat, Vinayakrao Ghat etc. 3

We may now consider some important ghats in their
individual details. .. |

The Manikarnika Ghat -

As mentioned earlier this was the first ghat to: be
built in stone in 1302 a. D., by two Raja-brothers, whose
names have been lost, but a stone inscription-about it
existed till 1872 and was collected and commented: upon
by Bharatendu Harishchandra in the Kavi Vachan Sudha
dated 22.5.1872. Unfortunately the stone inscription is
now lost too but its Hindi paraphrase given in the above
journal survives, and from it we know that it was an ex-
tensive ghat running from the Viresvara Ghat, thenorthera
most point of the present Scindhia Ghat, (just below the
Atmaviresvara temple) upto where the Nilkantha temple
is situated (that is in direct line east and west with the
Gyan Vapi temple of Visvesvara. There were no houses
there at the time and the Brahmanal had not been covered

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- THE RIVER FRONT. . 273

up to provide housing accommodation of the locality
now called by that name. We do not know when that
ghat went into ruins, but.in 1735! or a little earlier Peshva
Bajirao built some portion of the ghat anew and Maharani
Ahalyabai re-built the entire ghat once again in 1791. She
also started building a Zenana Ghat there, which remained
unfinished owing to the demise of the pious lady and
existed in that condition for a hundred years or more.
In 1872 even the ghat built by Ahalyabai was ina ruinous
condition. The present ghat is not in ruins but no one
seems to know who built it after 1872 and when.

Panchaganga Ghat

Built in stone for the first timein 1580 A. D. (Samvat
1637 according to a stone inscription still preserved in the
Sheshashai madhi at the ghat) by Raghunath Tandon,
Panchaganea Ghat is one of the most important Ghats,
considered specially sacred in the month of Kartika,
when people take their bath there very early, two hours
before sunrise. In 1585 the famous Bindu Madhava
temple, which lay in ruins from 1496 a. D., was built on
a very grand scale by Maharaja Jai Singh of Amber Sub-
sequently the ghat was built again by Pant Pritinidhi of the
Andhra State in 1755. In 1742 a small portion of the ghat
known as Narsimha Darha was built by the same family.

(1) Vide Sadasiva Naik’s letter to the Peshva dated Chaitra .

Shukla Ashtami (8-4-1735 A.D.) in which he says
your ghat which has been built at Manikarnika has no
parallel there”. This portion was known as Baji Rao
Ghat and extended from the Datta temple at the

Scindhiaghat upto Chakra Pushkarini, and was in ruins |

even before 1868 when Sherring wrote his book.

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274 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Dasasvamedha Ghat
As already mentioned this ghat represents the site
of Bharashiva’s Horse-sacrifices. It was constructed for
the first time soon after 1735 by Baji Rao Peshwa, the site
having been purchased in that year (Vide Sadasiva Naik’s
letter to Peshwa dated Bhadrapada Shuddha Pratipada
Samvat 1792). It is a great social centre in addition to
being a very important tirtha. The entire month of
Magha andthe bright half of Jyeshthaare the special occa-
sions for bathing here. Besides, the Bengalis have made
this ghat their own by the immersion of Durga Devi images
here onthe Dasehra day and Kali Devi images during
Diwali festivals In the evenings quite a large number of
aged Bengalis—men and women —sit on the ghat steps
and occasionally organise Kirtanas there. Then this was
the epicentre of the Buthwa Mangal fair, a festival that
is dead but will never be forgotten by those who saw even
the dying glory of that great occasion for Varanasi
festivity. .
This is the only ghat in the heart of the town where
conveyances can go right up to the river bank and has
consequently been ever the place where the nobility and
gentry, both Indian and foreign have approached theriver .
for a boat-ride. It was here that queen. Victoria’s sons,
grandsons, and great grandsons alighted from their carriages
to see the glorious ghats of Varanasi by ‘boat, and it was
here that one of those interesting social battles was fought,
which will be described in a’ subsequent chapter.

‘ Again it is here that the Hippis of the present day
ae built their headquarters and are tuining the atmos-
phere of this important Tirtha. The Municipal Corpora-

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THE RIVER FRONT 2715

tion intends to add to this suination by building a rest
house for the toutists there. toe

Till thirty years ago this area, and practically all the
ghats and most temples, resounded with sweet Shahnai
music both in the morning and evening, but those days
are over. Those that had the money and the heart to
spend it are now paupers and those who have the money
do not possess the necessary emotional upsurge to provide
entrancing musical enjoyment to thousands of God-loving
men and women, who frequent the ghats, the temples,
and the tiver front. |
Other Ghats 3

Pandit Narain Dikshit, the preceptor of Peshva Baji
Rao I came over to Varanasi to pass his last days in this
holy city, and while here he was instrumental in building
the Brahmaghat and the Shitalaghat to the north east of
it about 1740 a. D.

The Trilochan ghat and temple were built by Nathu
Bala of Poona, while the Lakshman Bala ghat was con-
structed by the Peshwasin the nineteenth century and is

‘now in the possession of the Scindhias, who obtained

it from the British.

In 1795 the Bhonslas of Nagpur built the Bhonsla Ghat
and a temple of Lakshmi Narain on the top of it, It is
one of the most well-built ghats of Varanasi.

In 1807 Amrit Rao, the adopted son of Raghoba, built

the Tulsighat, the Amritrao Ghator the Raja Ghat, and —

the Vinayak Rao Ghat in the name of his brother. He
also made extensive repairs in the Agnisvara Ghat.

In 1828 Baija Bai Scindhia started the construction of 3 z
the Scindhia Ghat but its foundations, away from the 7 :

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+
.

276 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Ganga, sank and the work had to be given up. A very
beautiful ghat has, however, been built by the Gwalior
Darbarabout forty years ago at a cost of 13.42 lakh rupees.

The Gaighat was built by Bala Bai Shitole also of Gwa-
lior and the Adikeshava ghat and the temple by the Chitnis
family. , |

The Rana Mahal Ghat owes its construction to the
Udaipur Darbar.and Ramghat to the Maharaja of Jaipur.
So does the Manmandir Ghat, surmounted by the Man
Mandir, a palace built by Maharaja Man Singh. Built
before 1585. D. it is the oldest building in Varanasi—and
one of its balcony-windows is avery beautiful structure.
Incidentally, it was in this palace that Sawai Jai Singh
constructed the Hindu observatory in 1737 A.D. The
instruments are all there but no one in Varanasi seems
_to' know how to use them since the death of Mahamaho-
padhyaya Pandit Bapu Devi Shastri, C. I. E. towards the
end of the last century. |

The Dandighat was built by Babu Sangamlal, along
with: the Shankudhara Tank and Dwarkadhish temple
there, and the Munshi Ghat by Sridhar Munshi, a Minister
of the Nagpur Bhonslas about 1812, while the Sankata
Ghat was built by the nephews of Beni Ram Pandit’s
widow in 1825. The Ganga Mahal Ghat was built by
Govind Baba Kirtankar, and the Durga Ghat by Nana
Phadnavis, who also built a palace, the Phadnavis Wada, on
the top of it. There is a tank beneath this building and
there is a staircase leading down to it. The upper exit
is covered by a stone slab in the street just near the steps
of the Wada.

It would be thus observed that most of the Ghats,
which constitute the pride of Varanasi were built in the

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THE RIVER FRONT 277

eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and that the Maha- .
tashtras had the lion’s share in this building programme,
which beautified the city’s river-front.

Consequent on the usual wear and tear and specially
because of erosion duriny the rainy season due to floods, the
ghats needed attention andthe Govt. of Indiaand the U.P.
Government took up this matter and a scheme of repairs
and renovations costing Rupees ninety five lakhs and
ninety thousand was sanctioned, and a large number of
ghats have been already repaired and renovated. z

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CHAPTER 12
VARANASI IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

The beginning of the Eighteenth century was a period
of disintegration. The mighty Moghal empire broke into
pieces and ultimately collapsed. The Maratha power |
shot up with meteoric splendour but met with such a
Serious reverse in 1761 that it too lost its All-India impor-
tance. For Vatanasi, however, this century proved a
turning point. When Mir Rustam Ali became the
governor of the Ghazipur, Jaunpur and Banaras Sarkars
on the basis of a contract with Saadat Ali Khan of Oudh,
Varanasi for the first time in several centuries found a
master after her heart. He was a cultured individual and
took personal interest in the festivities ofhis people Hindus
and Muslims alike. ‘There isa contemporay pinting in
Bharat Kala Bhavan Museum showing him enjoying
colour throwing during the Holi festival — and after his
removal and imprisoment there used to be sung in Vara-
nasi a Holi song which ran | .

‘Het WAT A Seat Ht fasar | Aa weaw ae ater faafgat 1”

(Where has gone our Holi player, our great soldier,
Rustam Ali ?) (Also see picture)

During his administration Varanasi breathed a sigh of
relief. There appeared once again, after centuries of
Oppression and occasional barbarities, the exhuberance of
Varanasi spirit in the populace, and in 1738, when Bal-
want Singh became the ruler of Varanasi, it was a very
gteat event in the history of the holy city—for it had a
Hindu ruler after 541 yeats. The popular enthusiasm

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VARANASI IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 279

got a fillip, and inspite of wars and political unrest, reli-
gious activity in Vatanasi continued at a brisk pace. Most
of the temples that were in ruins were reconstructed and
religious feeling once again reached its pinnacle. The
Maratha chiefs and chieftains lent their hand jn this re-
ligious reconstruction and Varanasi ghats and prominent
temples were te-consecrated in a grand way. Rani Bhavani
of Bengal and Maharani Ahalya Bai of Indore were promi-
nent in this respect — but there were other Maratha Sardars,
citizens, and officets, who had their share in this religious
reconstruction of Varanasi, which incidentally also became
an architectural reconstruction. i
The law and order situation, however, was far from
satisfactory and occasional looting instigated by interested
political parties was the order of the day. The Maharaja
was too much pre-occupied with political manoevring
to save his life and throne, and the situation continued to
worsen, and when Chet Singh ascended the throne things
were bad enough. They were, however, destined to
grow worse, and when Hastings assumed the administra-
tion of Varanasi city after placing Mahip Narain Singh on
the throne of Kashi Raj minus Varanasi city,things were in
a very bad way indeed; and in order to improve matters
he appointed Ali Ibrahim Khan as the administrator of
Varanasi on 14.10.1781 and placed the separate reorganised
deparments of Police, Criminal law, and Civil Law directly
underhim. ‘This had the desired effect and things showed
considerable improvement. A Kotwal was appointed,
_ and given the power of inflicting upto 20 lashes on the
body of Goondas and other evil-doers, apart from placing

them before a Magistrate. He was to be assisted by a

requisite number of Jan-nashins and uniformed constables.

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280 5 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

According to a report submitted by Duncan: in:1795
there were 34 Jan-nashins (Sub-inspectors of police), and
243 constables and the city had been divided into five
wards. ‘There were also about ten localities, which had
gates and the residents thereof either appointed a gateman
at their own cost or closed the gates themselves at night..

All these arrangements had their effect and general
lawlessness was controlled to an appreciable extent. In-
ternal security however, was still far from satisfactory
and soon enough the goondas themselves came forward
to solve this problem. The goonda baithaks in evety
mohalla took upon themselves the task of protecting the
residents of their own locality against depredations by
the goondas of another mohalla and for this putpose
imposed a small six monthly fee on the residents. ` This
proved quite satisfactory and the arrangement continued
tight up to the third quarter of the nineteenth century.
Of course certain difficulties occasionally arose on a house-
holder changing his residence after having paid his goon-
dah-baithak fee for six months in advance, but there
was usually a compromise on these occasions — or else
he had to “satisfy” his new goonda baithak with his
own physical powers as happened in the case of Pandit
Gangadhar Shookle about 1856. He used to live in Tha-
theri Bazar and had paid his fees. He then putchased a
house in Narain Dikshit-Mohalla and shifted there. ‘The
local baithak demanded their fees and refused to be
accommodating. ‘Things drifted fora month or two and
one day four goondahs armed with lathis waylaid the
Pandit near Boolanala and demanded immediate payment.
They were kept occupied in pleadings for sometime and
1n a moment of temporary in-alertness the Pandit snatched

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<

CO O A EEN

VARANASI IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 281

one lathi and broke it into two and then into fout with his
bare hands and then asked them if they were satisfied with
his physical powers or would theystill threatenhim. They
realised the immensity of his physical strength and came to
terms by making. him an honorary. resident of their mo-
halla for life. i

The police administration tod continued to improve
by repeated re-organiastions and the vigilance of the
Officers, and the law and order situation in the town con-
tinued to showi improvement, though there were OREO
disturbances of 2 general nature.

One such disturbance occured in 1805 when the
Muslims tried to pull down a temple‘near Lat Bhaitava,
and again in 1809 near Gyan Vapi. This was a graver
incident and the Hindus retaliated, and there were very
serious communal riots,-in which the famous pillar of

- Lat Bhairava, which had-escaped the*wrath of Aurangzeb

and was: permitted to remain in ‘the. Alamgiri mosque
‘quadrangle, was broken into pieces, and more than
eighty mosques were pulled down and hundreds. of
persons lost their lives. The trouble continued for several
days and peace was ultimately restored by the persistent
efforts of the Magistrate Mr. W. W. Bird. Speaking about
the immensity of the disturbance in 1805 Pane De in his
“Sketches” writes :— |
“Tt was under such a state of excited zeal (on the
occasion of Moharram) that a congregation at the Lat
Imambata, in 1805 ,was urged by some fanatic preacher
to dverthrow and defile the pillar and imges of Hindu
-worship at that place; the imprudent feat, however, caused
a furious reaction, and might have ended ‘in the exter-
‘mination of the weaker party throughout the town, but

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282 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

for the judicious intervention of Mr. W. W. Bird then
Magistrate, and the really docile and submissive temper
of the Hindoos.”

There was another disturbance of a civic nature when
the East India Company administration at Calcutta decid-
ed to impose a house tax in Varanasi. People: objected
to this and submitted a representation, which was rejected
out of hand by the Calcutta authorities. The shops re-
mained closed for more than a fortnight and“‘inflammatory
papers of the most objectionable tendency appeared pla-
carded about the streets.” The Law Courts refused to
intercede and the authorities at Calcutta sought the
intervention of Raja Udit Narain Singh of Benares and
the efforts of the latter assisted by Babu Shiva Narain
Singh, Nawab Saiyad Akbar Ali Khan, Molvi Abdul Qadir
Khan and Babu Jamuna Das succeeded in pacifying the
people and in consequence of a further petition certain
changes were made in the scheme and the affair was closed.

Things continued to improve and there was no inci-
dent till the first of May 1850, when a peg of gun-powder,
proceeding by boat from the Ishapur Factory to Agra,
suddenly exploded near Raj Ghat. The havoc caused
was vety gteat indeed. Thousands of houses collapsed
and half the city was ruined. The impact was so great .
that the Maharaja’s House at Chakia, twentyfive miles
away, had its glass-panes shattered. Thousands were
killed and wounded, but Varanasi took it with her usual
philosophic placidity. !

In 1852 another ‘rebellion? occured, this time on
account of a rumour that the new messing arrangements
Suggested for convicts in jails would interefere with their
religion. There was a public uproar and mass gatherings:

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VARANASI IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 283

occuted at Bhonslaghat, Nati Imli, Kamachha and Baij-
naththa on successive days. The meeting at Nati Imli
became violent and the District Magistrate was hutt by
some sort of brick-batting. The atmy was thereupon _
called and some people were arrested. At the Baijnaththa
meeting about 300 persons were rounded up and sent to
jail. The Provincial Government recommended modera-
‘tion and all those arrested except 29 persons were released
after mild punishments. These 29 persons remaind in jail
for several months pending a decision in their cases bythe -
courts, but were ultimately granted a general amnesty on
the recommendations of the District Magistrate and the
Commissioner, who was also the Superintendent of
Police. This incident is called Gauraiya Shahi in local
tradition as Gauraiyas (Clay Hookkas) were used for -
pelting the authorities. f i
Life at Varanasi was peaceful thereafter till 1857, and
heretoo, as elsewhere, the first signs of discontent appeared
in the army about March, although the city too was
bubbling with discontent due to high prices. The local
authorities were quite aware of this civil disaffection -
and the Collector and the Commissioner actually moved
‘round the market early in May and-asked the shopkeepers
to lower the prices. The presence of the exiled Moghal
Princes in the city was another factor which was causing
anxiety to the authorities for fear they might try to take
advantage of the developing situation. A war-council
-met and it was decided that in the event of danger all Eng-
lishmen and women would take shelter in the Mint House.
The 84th Queen’s Regiment arrived in Varanasi from
Calcutta but the authorities were so confident of the
situation here that it was sent on Kanpur. Trouble

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284. VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

started on June the first, when some empty barracks were
set on fire, but the real ordeal came on June 4. It was
then decided to disarm the Native regiments but they did
not agree and there was an exchange of fire between the
Indian and British soldiers on the disarming parade-
ground itself, in which the Indian soldiers were driven
Out of the army lines. About the same time rebellion
spread to 13th Regiment and they also attacked their
officets. Soon the Sikh Regiment also joined in the re-
volt; but the Indian soldiers were not able to continue
facing the British Carbineers and fled. The fevolt in
the Varanasi Contonement was thus suppressed.

There was some sort of confusion in the city on hearing
sounds of firing in the Cantonements but nothing unto-
ward happened till the Muslims tried to hoist the green
flag of their religion on the Visvesvata temple (Dr. Moti
Chandras Kashi Ka Itihas, p. 381). Mr. Lynd the Magis-
trate was, however, able to prevent this with the help of
local Rajputs, who also helped him thereafter in pre-
serving peace in the town.

The local Judge Mr. F. Gubbins played a great role
in controlling general lawlessness. Martial Law was
proclaimed, and the Asstt. Magistrate Jenkinson assisted
by Lieutt. Pelleser and other army volunteers moved.
round the city and several guillotins: were constructed in
public places and streets for hanging persons found guilty
of gtaver offences. This had the desired effect and the
situation was controlled. Exploits of Kunwar Singh
of Ballia did have a disturbing influence in the city
but the influence of the Maharaja of Benares and.
that of Raja Deva Narain Singh of Ausanganj saved
the situation. Se eg en ine vee

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VARANASI IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 285

In suppressing the revolt, and for sometime even
afterwards, such terrorising measures were taken by the
British authorities in Varanasi-and more specially at
Allahabad, where even innocent people were hanged from
Nim trees in the heart of the city (Those trees still exist in
Chowk there), — that a mortal dread of Europeans
seized the hearts of the citizens, and Varanasi was no-
exception to this. Thus for several years thereafter the
word of an Englishman was law and no one dared to
oppose his wishes in any matter and in any manner
whatsoever. It was for this reason that Reverend Sherring
was able to enter every Hindu temple in Varanasi without
shedding his shoes, as he boastfully records in his book
on Varanasi (Page 131). His boast was justified, but a
time was soon to return — and it came back earlier than he
expected - when no Englishman could enter a Hindu
_ temple, with or without shedding his shoes, not even.
the high and mighty including his own son, who was the
Commissioner of Benares Division. Havell’s guess that
this was the last ditch of the Hindu religion, which was.
nearing extinction (p. 225) was merely fanciful. Hinduism.
was in no danger in 1905, when his book ‘Benares the
Sacred City’ was written, and there was no occasion for
the socalled ‘“‘Brahman’s alarm at the increasing influence
of Christianity.” In fact Chistianity had completely failed
to touch the Varanasi citizen, as we shall see in a subseq-
uent paragraph. 3
Soon enough after the events described above came the
Royal Proclamation of Queen Victoria and the sentiments
expressed therein, and the realisation of the fact that the
first effort at Indian Independence had. failed, created a
general sentiment of peace in the land, and subsequent

i
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286 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

visits of the Princes of Wales and other British notables
once again engendered friendly feelings in the heart of
Varanasi citizens.

Things ran smoothly and noticeable progress was
made in general administration of the town for over thirty
years. The most important posts were occupied by
Englishmen, and the Indians who held only the lower
ranks played their part with enviable honesty and abi-
lity. The Englishman was considerate and tried to earn
the good opinion of his subotdinates—and the latter
reciprocated by being loyal to him. There were no
competitive examinations those days for recruitment to
the Indian Civil Service and sons of blue-blooded families
of England were usually sent out to India. They carried
with them high traditions of nobility of conduct, and this
captured the hearts of Varanasi people—who themselves
had pretty high standards of personal loyalty. An inci-
dent which occured here in the eighties of the nineteeth
century would illustrate the point. A retired Head Clerk of
the Collector’s Court many years after retirement took his
son,.who had just passed his B. A. Examination, to the
Commissioner, under whom he had sérved when the latter
was the Collector and requested his employment. The Com-
missioner was somewhat in an angry mood at the time and

` behaved rather harshly andscolded him for troubling him.

The old man listened to the harangue for a while and then

burst into a retaliatory harangue himself and in a very
loud voice remarked that if the Commissioner handed over
all his powers to his peons no one would ever come to
trouble him. The Commissioner was silent and the Munshi
left in anger. The next morning his son received 4
letter. of appointment in the. Commissioner’s office. .

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VARANASI IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 287

Recruitment to the Indian Civil Service by a competi-
tive Examination started some time later and consequently
the personal quality of the candidate and his family tra-
ditions played a minor role in recruitment. ‘Thus bright
young men belonging to the plebian tradition found
their way to India as officers, and their behaviour was ‘not
as graceful as that of their pedecessors and even some
contemporaries. Their relations with self-respecting
Indians were, therefore, not very sweet.

Young Indians receiving English education at Vara-
nasi and elsewhere, were becoming conscious of the
difference in the behaviour of English officers towards.
the people of England and those of India. ‘They resented
the overbearing attitude of these officers towards Indians,
as they contrasted the inherent power of the British public
in correcting improper exercise of power by the officers —
(even by the British Monarchs and going to the extent
of trying a King for treason and beheading him) with the
helplessness of the people in India in not being permitted
to correct the improper behaviour of even petty officers.
This highhandedness of the British beaurocracy in India
was well known to the people of Britain and Sir Richard
Temple had already declared that it was most difficult to
control the British Officers in India and make them carry
out otders. In fact when Lord Dufferin was appointed
Viceroy, the Pall Mall Gazette of London wrote that the
most important duty of the new Viceroy would be to
control the high-handedness and insubordination of the
English Officers in India and that this duty was more
important than maintaining good relations with Russia.
This improper behaviour of the British officers here hurt
the self-respect of Indians in general and of the educated

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288 . ` VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

class in particular and in their hearts smouldered feelings
of revolt, and there were in the Queen’s College at Vara-
nasi some students, who entertained these latter sentiments
rather strongly and who are said to have organised some
sort of a campaign which, however, never materialised..

Varanasi had a Municipality and all its officers were.
Englishmen; ‘the District Magistrate being its Ex-officio
Chairman. As luck would~have it, the whole ‘group
of these officers at Varanasi in the beginning of 1891 be-
‘longed to the plebian tradition mentioned earlier. ‘They .
-were haughty, overbearing; and rude... People in general
had no respect for them : they only. feared: their unres-
tricted power to harm them, and as for the educated youth
they were full of resentment and insufferable rage.

Meanwhile the new orientation given to Commerce
by the Government of India and the effect of centralised
business in the shape of limited liability companies —
mostly being tun by English parties—had been very damag-
ing to the commerce and business of Varanasi, where
individual business was the order of the day. These big
‘companies soon controlled the entire field of commerce
in Varanasi as elsewhere. Handicrafts could not compete
with mechanized production and dwindled, with conse-
‘quent disorganization and even demoralis ation. Bank-
ing business, which had been the mainstay of Varanasi
Capitalists in the earlier centuries and even in the first half
of the nineteenth, became unprofitable under the new
conditions. Instead of dealing with the Moghal Kings,
Nawab Vazirs of Oudh, and the East India Company,
‘which they had been doing. for more than two
centuties before, the whole gamot of their business
now consisted of lending money to needy merchants of

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VARANASI IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 289

_. Varanasi — and naturally this meant little income. Gopal

Das Sahu and his son Manohar Das had business contacts
with Hastings — the first Governor General of India and
dealt diréctly with him. The family had now to be con-

tent with small business at Varanasi and Manohardas

actually went over to Calcutta- and. after his death his
sons and grandsons lived on their capital and squandered —
it till they earned the nom-de-plume of Jhakkar Sahu

`. (the Eccentric businessman). The family of the author,

which dealt in lakhs -and crores fell on bad days and had

i to cease business and take to service.

There was no lack of money in the coffers of Varanasi
bankets but they were not able to bestir themselves into
industrial activity and as mentioned above banking
business.itself was in doldrums. Had they taken to in-
dustrial ventures it would have benefitted not only them-
selves but a large number of skilled labour and others

+ also.

The Provincial Government under Sir Auckland Colvin
decided to establish water-works in all Municipal towns

. of the Province, and as they had been already established

at Agra and Allahabad, Varanasi was the next choice.
The foundation stone of this new water-wotks was laid

with great eclat by H. R. H. Prince Albert Victor of Wales

on 15th January 1889.
The Ramhalla
‘The Municipal Board of Varanasi, controlled by the

_ + British officers, decided.to raise a loan of 50 lakhs of rupees

for the waterworks and for improvement in the sewage

system of the town. ‘The debt was to be paid by incteas-

ing the existing taxes and octroi charges and levying a
19

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290 ` VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

new tax called the water-tax. There lay the rub. The
average citizen was too poor to shoulder this additional -
burden and once the decision to augment the taxes was
announced, thousands of applications were submitted
against it, but they were rejected en wasse sand it was decided
to establish the water-works at Bhelupur and its founda-
tion stone was laid as mentioned in the previous pata-
graph. But Bheluputis at a considerable distance from
the river, so a pumping station was to be built at Bhadaini,
and the site chosen for the purpose had a Ram Mandir
standing on it. The engineers, who drew up the plan
. felt that. this temple came in the way of maintaining the
symmetry of ‘the buildings and the authorities decided to
pull it down or at best. to truncate it. As mentioned
earlier, the British officers of the District and the Muni-
cipal Board were what are now called Sun-dried Bureau-
crats, and commanded no respect in the city—nor had
they the imagination to realise the great shock that people
of Varanasi would get by the demolition of the temple.
‘They seemed to be insensible to the disturbed state of the
Hindus all over Northern India in consequence “of the
demolition of a Hindu temple at Darbhanga under the
orders of a British Collector acting as the Chairman of the
Municipal Board there only a few months before, and the
widespread agitation in that connection; for the Hindus
once again had recalled in that incident the iconoclastic
activities of the Muslim rulers and considered that inci-
dent as a continuation of that attrocious tradition. That
Collector had denied the very existence of the temple when
an enquiry was set on foot, but an excavation of the site
under instructions from the government at Calcutta had
proved the truth of the Hindu complaint and the falsehood

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VARANASI IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 291

of the English Collector, and yet no punishment had been
given to him- and the Vice-Chairman, a Muslim gentle-
man, who had got the demolition carried out under his
personal supervision, was also permitted to resign instead
of being dismissed. Personal influence of the Maharaja
of Darbhanga had prevented direct action on the part of
the Hindus, but the denial of justice by the government
had left them disgruntled and disaffected. _

Against this background was viewed the proposal
to pull down the Ram Mandir. For the completion and
satisfactory functioning of the Pumping Station it was
not at all necessary to.touch the temple. It merely inter-
fered with the socalled symmetry ofthe construction. A
‘Temple Protection Committee was organised and thou-
sands. of applications were presented to the Collector,
and meetings and all other peaceful means were exhausted
to prevent the execution of this Alamgiri decision, from the
28th November 1890 uptill 15th April 1891. Meanwhile
the Collector had promulgated notices under the Land
Acquisition Act on the 8th March 1691 for acquiring the
temple and other nearby houses, and on 9th April 1891
he applied to the District Judge to fix the amount to be
paid as compensation for the temple and permit its imme-
diate acquisition. This added fuel to tke fire of discontent,
which was already burning bright enough. Applications
signed by thousands of persons were again presented to the
Collector Mr. White, the then Ex-officio Chairman of the
Municipal Board and he grudgingly agreed to call a special
meeting of the Board for cofisidering them, but even at
this stage he attached little importance to these public
appeals and instead of dealing with them promptly fixed
the date of the meeting a week later on 20th April, and

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292 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

even this was done at the special request of fourteen Mu-
nicipal Commissioners. The Collector made adequate
. police arrangements to enforce his will and actually alert-
ed the army at Varanasi and Allahabad. He even tried
to bring about a collapse of the temple by digging trenches
arround it—and the trustees of the temple were asked
to demolish it as it was in a dangerous condition under
the Municipal laws. The meeting of the Board held
at the Town Hall on 15th April did not consider the
application of the Hindus but did not inform the crowd,
which had gathered there about this dicision. So, when
another application on the question was presented and
roughly brushed aside, Pt. Vijaya Nand, the Secretary of
the Temple Protection Committee, standing near the door,
lost his patience and was convinced that the rumour sat
afloat by the son of an influential member of the Board
that the temple would be demolished that afternoon was
true, and he got so excited that he gave the call to the
crowd to save the temple. The crowd turned its face
towards Bhadaini and followed him. The market closed
in 4 moment and every one ran towards the Ram Mandir.
Jagannath Das, who had presented the last application had
been told that the matter was not on the agenda of that ~
meeting and he ran to Bhadaini and tried to save the situa-
tion. He jumped on to the seven foot wall of the pump-
ing station and shouted to the people that the temple was
not being demolished that day and that the matter would
be considered at a special meeting of the Board on-20.4.91,
but he was hooted down and had to flee for his life. The
crowd had taken the law in its own hands. The newly
constructed wall was pulled down, the ditches filled, the
Pumping-engine and the pipes reduced to scrap and the

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VARANASI IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 293

stables of Babu Sita Ram, who had provided accommoda-
tion to the police posted there were set on fire. The
Goonda element of the locality took to looting—and the
crowd took no interest in preventing this. It turned
its face towards Raja Siva Prasad’s House near Kal Bhai-
rava, but had to retire from there because it was fired upon
from the Raja’s house. It then destoryed the Central
Telegraph Office and wrecked the Kashi Station.

Mass arrests were now started and thousands were
taken prisoner, most of whom were later released, but
_ those whose guilt was proved were given heavy punish-
ments ranging from three year’s incarceration to imprison-
ment for life along with solitary confinement for several
months, and fines extending from 1000 to 25,000 rupees.
Ultimately even these people were given the Lientt.
Governor’s pardon on 24.12.91.

The Municipal Board decided on the 20th April 1891
to pull down the temple but not to disturb the icons and |
to build a small temple over them at a cost of 5,000/-.
In view of strong opposition from many members, how-
ever, it was decided to get it confirmed by the Govt. before
action was taken thereon. The Govt., however, rejected
the resolution and ordered that the existing temple was
to be preserved intact - and not be allowed even to
collapse of its own accord. Thus ended the last important
event of the century. Several raises of the city, who had
voted for the resolution as Municipal Commissioners,
. lost their importance and influence, and ceased to.be
looked upon with respect.

Having thus far reviewed the general condition of |
Varanasi during the century, and noticed a slow but steady
improvement in the law and order situation, which had

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294- VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

earned the goodwill of the common citizen in spite of the
financial difficulties in which he was row placed, we would
now proceed to study in detail some specific facets of life
during the period under review.

The Christian Missions

In the chapter on Education it has already been noticed
that the three Christian Missions, which entered the
field had rendered conspicuous effort in educating the
Varanasi children—and even though the first English `
School was opened by a Hindu, the credit for its efficient

Management goes to one of the missions. Their contri-
bution to the education of girls was even more important.
All this was done not for the benefit of Varanasi youth
but as a means to spread Christianity and to biting about
conversion of Hindus to that religion by offering all sorts
of blandishments as we shall see. 7

Hospitals were another means adopted by them to
attract and oblige the Hindu population, and while actual
services rendered in this sphere have to be acknowled ged
the aim. behind them was not so laudable. It was to.
strike the Hindu population in its painful spot and derive
religious benfit from it. Medical arrangements by the
Government had not yet been made to the essential level

and people thronged to these mission Hospitals for
relief.

Guided by their experience in Bengal, where Chris-
tianity had given a good shaking to the traditionalism of
the Hindus there and having actually succeeded in effecting

some notable conversions to that faith, the missions
enthustically launched the same schemes in Vara-

Nasi—the first town outside Bengal which had come

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VARANASI IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 295

under the Christian rule of the East India Company.
They opened schools and hospitals, established orphan-
ages, and built Churches at which the Gospel of Jesus was
preached, The effort was thus two-pronged. The
ignorant and the poor were to be tackled at the hospitals .
and the schools,and in between, on the occasions of fairs and
festivals, at which Hindu religion was openly attacked
‘and Christianity praised, while the educated youth was to
be shown the advantages of the Christian faith in well-
argued and learned discussions. The results achieved at
Varanasi were, however, very. discouraging and special
pleadings have had to be made by Sherring (1868 A. D.)
to explain that numbers were of no consequence 10 such
matters—what really was important was the fact that
some shaking had been given to the Hindu faith and some
persons had shown their desire to accept the greatness of
Christianity without having the courage to become Chris-
tians. He actually confesses that “it appears that Christian-
ity has been more successful in many places in India
than in Benares” (Sherring p. 357). Writing in 1909
Edwin Greaves goes a step further, “Results | results |
This is the half-taunting query often brought forward.
The Indian Christian Community numbers about 800 (in
Varanasi) including the Children in the Sigra orphanage
and the girl’s Boarding School. Numerically this does not
appear to be a great achievement for nearly a century of
work.” (Kashi orthe City Illustrious by Edwin Greaves,
p. 116). And beit noted that most of these 800 Christians
had come from the lowest strata of Hindu society—and
even today what missionary preachings are achieving in
India is negligible as against conversions brought about
by monetary inducement to the poor and starving. At

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- 296 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Ghasipur for example, every child (of the depressed classes
generally) who enters the Christian School is straightaway
baptized without even the formality of his parent’s consent.
Towatds the end of the nineteenth century a curious
method was also adopted to entice respectable Hindu
young men to accept the Christian faith. A band of
Christian girls were offered, out of whom onecould choose
one for a wife if one were to become a Christian. But
even this blandishment failed to attract Varanasi youth.

The bazar lectures also met with an utter failure — and
when a villager from the Varanasi subutbs asked the
learned’ preacher at one of these lectures as the latter |
was hatanguing on worshipping the Son of God, if God
himself were dead, and on being told that God almighty
could never die and was all-alive, the villager retorted
“If the father is alive why should we worship the son ?
Do you worship the Prince of Wales in preference to the
King of England >”

In all his discourse on the effects of Christanity on the
mind of educated young men Sherring is constantly
mixing up the result of English education and preachings
of Christianity. The change in the mental make-up of the
young men educated in colleges was not endengered by
the preacher but by the influence of Western Education—
and it was the latter that “widened the intellectual horizon
of these _young men and developed in them analytical
powers”? and not the preachings at the Churches; and when -
Shetring forsees the whole of India becoming Christian
Some day, one can merely pity him for his daydreaming |
(pp. 359-360).

It was in 1835 that Maculay succeeded in changing
the pattern of Education in India—specially in Bengal,

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VARANASI IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 297

and Varanasi soon addopted the new system. Actually
Vatanasi was not the fitst city in Uttar Pradesh to do so.
Agra had priority in this matter, where the Agra College
was established before the Queen’s College started impart-
ing Western Education in the full sense of the term. In
fact the English seminary of Varanasi was but a “pri-
mitive” institution and it was only after 1844, when it was
amalgamated with the “Hindu College” under the Prin-
cipalship of Muir that Western Education started. There
were no degrees at the time, there being only two depatt-
ments—the Junior Department and the Senior Depart-
ment, the latter representing the highest stage. The
curriculum, as already mentioned in the chapter on Edu-
cation, was tather promiscuous and evidently an educa-
tion so devised could hardly have had much effect on the
general outlook of the young men undergoing it. This
was in 1854. Later on when the Banaras College de-
veloped along modern lines and the curricula were re-
organized, the real Western Education started—and un-
like Bengal, these young men of Varanasi, educated in the
Western Style by English Professors, with a widened
' mental horizon, continued to be unaffected by the so
called cultural superiority of the West. They developed
analytical powers, acquired a great deal of Western learn-
ing, mastered the English language and literature, but did
not lose faith in their own heritage. Dr. Sir Ganganatha
Jha, and Dr. Bhagwan Das (Bharata Ratna ) could be
producedas conspicuous examples of this viewpoint. The
Queen’s Collegeproduceda large number of eminent men,
one of them even went to England for higher studies
(Pandit Behari Lal Medh), but every one of them refused
to acknowledge the superiority of Western culture. They

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298 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

earned the approbation, even respect, of their European
Professors by their acquired abilities and some of them
possessed a command over the English language as if it
was theirt mother-tongué,. but they were also “first above
every thing else a Hindu gentleman deeply imbued with
Indian History and tradition and its best ideals.” (Sir
Grimwood Mears) and it was in this context that a need
was felt for the establishment of a National University by
Pt. M. M. Malviya and the Benares Hindu University
came into existence.

That tremendous shaking which Indian traditions
received in Bengal was altogather absent in Varanasi and
the youth here never lost his original moorings. His
faith in the superiority and purity of his own culture did
not waver for a moment. Western Education did create
a respect for the English people as citizens of England
but it also enabled the Varanasi youth to see the big
difference between the behaviour of Englishmen at home
and in India, and thus developed in him feelings of re-
sentment and disaffection. Ample evidence of these -
feelings was ptovided at the Benares meeting of the
Indian National Congress in 1905. :

_, The Nineteenth century saw some important develop-
ments at Varanasi. The first Hindi and Urdu newspapers
appeared in 1845, and a Hindi drama Janaki Mangal was
actually staged for the first time at the old Natchghar in
the Cantonements of Varanasi. The first Hindi drama was
also written at Varanasi by Babu Gopal Chandra under
tke pen-name of Giridhar Das and these were but the :
beginnings of what may justly be called literary move-
ments, which may be indicated briefly.

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VARANASI IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 299

Newspapets

Banaras Akhbar in Hindi and Banatas Gasette in Urdu
were published from 1845 to 1854 under the common Edi-
torship of Pt. Govind Raghunath Thatthe, who was
also their Printer and Publisher. These were weeklies
and their annual subscription was twelve rupees. In 1850
the ‘Sudhakar’ (Hindi weekly) appeared under the Edi-
_torship of Babu Tara Mohan Maitra. This was but
shortlived. ‘The real Hindi newspaper Kavi Vachan
Sudha, however, appeared in 1868. It was-a literary
monthly and was brought out by Bharatendu Harishchan-
dra. Soon enough it became a fortnightly and then in
1875 a weekly, and as it developed in form, it also de-
veloped in content. It was the first Hindi paper, which
preached nationalism and soon earned the displeasure of
the Government, but there is no doubt about its excellence.
The French scholar Garcin da Tassi, writing in 1870 has
given it its due meed of praise. Later on it got into
wrong hands and Bharatendu’s connection with it ceased,
and in 1884 its publication came to an end. Bharatendu
was not content by publishing this paper alone, he pub-
lished the Harishchandra’s Magazine in 1873 and Harish-
chandra Chandrika in 1874 for the benefit of students and
‘young men. In the same year he published the Balabodhini
for ladies. In 1880 the Harishchandra Chandrika passed
into the hands of Mohan Lal Vishnu Lal Pandya and
soonafter ceased publication. In 1876 Babu Baleshwar
Prasad started the Kashi Patrika and Babu Radha Krishna
Das the Navodita Harishchandra Chandrika at Bharat-
endu’s suggestion, but these had very short lives. The
famous Sanskrit magazine“The Pandit” was already being
published at the Medical Hall Press by Dr. E. J. Lazaras

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300 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

for sevetal yeats, in which articles dealing with serious
subjects were being published. Generally speaking
European philosophy was being presented in Sanskrit
in this paper for the information of the Varanasi Pandits.
In 1884 Babu Ram Krishna Varma brought out the Bharat
Jivan as a weekly, and the same year saw the publication
of three more weeklies the Kashi Samachar, the Mittra and
the Timir Nashak, but they were all shortlived. The
Kashi Nagatri Pracharini Sabha started the Nagari Pra-
charini Patrika in 1896, which continues even today and
has become an institution in its own right.

These. were the important papers of the nineteenth
century published from Varanasi, but there were quite
a score of others started between 1895 and 1898, which
are not being mentioned here for lack of space, quite se-
veral of which dealt with the newly arisen Arya Samaja
controversy.

The Hindi Stage

_ The Ram Lila started by Goswami Tulsi Das in the
seventeenth century at Varanasi may be considered as the
first attempt in Hindi to stage dramas. They were some
sort of open-air stage performances and were not only
popular but were also spreading very fast all over North-
ern India. There was, however, a dearth of dramas in
Hindi and Bharatendu’s father Babu Gopal Chandra
(nom-de-plume Giridhar Das) tried to make good this
deficiency by writing his Nahusha Natak. Then came
Bharatendu himself on the scene and he produced not
only quite a crop of excellent original Hindi dramas but
also enriched the Hindi stage with translations of Sanskrit,
Bengali, Prakrit and English dramas.

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VARANASI IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 301

After his death his cousin Babu Radha Krishna Das
carried on the effort by producing his famous drama
Mahatana Pratap. : z

One of Bharatendu’s nephews founded the Bharatendu
Natak Mandali, which staged, two new plays “Har Hat
Mahadeva” and “Subhadra Swayamvar”, after its split,
which gave birth to the Nagari Natak Mandali. Quite
a dozen dramas were written by Pt. Jwala Ram Nagar of
the latter institution, of which Guru Drona and Dasyu
Daman were found to be the best.

Later on there appeared quite a large number of dra-
matists in Varanasi among whom Agha Hashra Kash-
miri, Hari Krishna Jauhar, Sri Krishna Hasrat, Har Shan-
kar Upadhyaya and Durga Prasad Gupta were prominent.
Agha Hashra was a true Vatanasi-man and has written
several Hindi dramas including his famous Bhakta Surdas.
Hari Krishna Jauhar’s Kanya Vikraya and Pati Bhakti
earned approbation. Kashi Visvanath and Kashi Dar-
shan of Har Shankar Upadhyaya were equally successful.
Durga Prasad Gupta’s “Vira Hammir” drew an immense
crowd at Bombay.

Standardisation of Hindi

Another -literary movement intimately connected with
the above was the standardisatoin of Hindi as a literary
medium. It is generally believed that Bharatendu Harish-
chandra started this process and heis consequently called
the father of modetn Hindi, but actually he had a pre-
decessor in this work who was not allowed to do it by the
Govt. of UP. In 1846 Dr. J.R. Ballantyne tried to persuade
his pupils to translate Sanskrit works into correct Hindi.
The Hindi version of the Prem Sagar by Lallu Lal was

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302. VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

to be taken as the best standard of Hindi gramar and or-
thography and Mr Muirs’ Manisha Dharma Dipika was
to be translated. He was, however overruled by the
Government of U. P. The Lieutt. Governor gave a re-
buff to Dr. Ballantyne in a language which might be
‘called quite harsh. ‘The Lieutt. Governor observes that
if by the term Hindi was meant a language which admits
no wotds but those derived from the Sanskrit, the im-
provement of such a language must ever be an object of
much inferior importance to that-of Urdu. In order to
make the culture of Hindi as worthy of direct and active
encoutagement as that of Urdu, a large admixture of
foreign terms must be permitted in the former language in
order to fit it for the expression of ideas, which it would
otherwise be unable to convey. It would in fact become
merely a form of the Urdu dialect with a preponderance
-of words of indigenous or Sanskrit origin; and the ques-
tion would otherwise arise, whether the Persian character
might not be more advantageusly used for such a dialect
than the stiffer and more cumbrous one, in which Hindi
is now written.” The Lieutt. Governor also considered
that “it would be a desirable state of things, and that it is
moreover one likely to be realized, that the Urdu written
in Persian character should become the general medium
for acquiting or communicating information among all
persons of superior education in this part of India. The
number of foreign words admitted into this language will
of course vaty with the taste of the author and the nature
of the subject ; an accomplished scholar of Hindu parentage
is in a favourable position at Benares for producing an
Urdu style more intelligible and more to the taste of his
countrymen than that used at Delhi and Lucknow.

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VARANASI IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 303

Every encouragement should be given to those who are
willing and competent to undertake such a task; but it is
evident that a knowledge of the higher Urdu as well as of
Sanskrit, if not some acquaintance with Arabic and Persian
is necessary for its successful execution. The pure Hindi
will doubtless retain its ground for colloquial and subordi-
nate purposes; but the wish of a supet-annuated scholar
to apply himself to the study of it was not considered
sufficient to warrant the continuance of his stipend.”

So Dr. Ballantyne had to give up his efforts to stand-
ardise Hindi andhis pupil’s pupil Bharatendu Harishchandra
accomplished it so successfully by his own writings and
those of his colleagues and compatriots, who saw in this
task the fulfilment of a national need. Among these Rao
‘Krishna Deva Sharan Singh, Goswami Sri Krishna Chai-
tanya Deva, Kartik Prasad Khatri, Ambika Datt Vyas,
Ram Krishna Varma, M. M. Sudhakar Dwivedi, Radha
Krishna Das, Pratap Narain Misra and a host of others
were most notable. Standard Hindi thus became the
accepted mode of literary writings. In poetry, however,
Brij Bhasha continued to hold the field almost till the
-end of the century—although occasional verses in standard
Hindi, called Khari Boli in this context, were also pro-
duced from time to time, but they remained exceptions
only. ,

The culmination of this movement was, however,
reached in 1893 when Babu Shyam Sundar Das B. A.,
‘Thakur Shiva Kumar Singh, and Pandit Ram Nea
Misra organised the Nagari Pracharint Sabha, whic
‘has done more for Hindi than all others combined. : Later
on, it gave birth to Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, which has its
headquarters at Allahabad.

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304 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Another political effort'on the part of some Muslim
divines of Lucknow to sponsor some sort of a rebellion
found some echo in Varanasi too. One Bismillah Shah
of Lucknow issued two letters’ in Persian in 1284 Fasli
(1877A.D.) which were secretly circulated among Takia-
dar Faqirs of Oudh by the hands of village goldsmiths.
These letters reached Varanasi also but evoked little
response in the city and even less in the villages.

Important Visitors

‘Several important visitors came to Varanasi during
the second half of the century and they were welcomed
with considerable enthusiasm and with Varanasi’s custom-
ary hospitality. Even in 1814 when Lord Hastings
visited Varanasi, he was surprised by the welcome he
received, as he has himself recorded in his diary, and these
later visitors too had a right royal reception. These
visits had another aspect too. They provided occasions
for bringing to’ the surface local rivalries.

The Maharaja of Vizianagaram was living in Varanasi
fora longtime. He was very rich and by compatison the
circumstances of the Maharaja of Benares werenotsoafflu- .
ent. Vizianagaram was a Ruling Prince, while the Benares
State had not yet attained that status. Efforts were, ©
therefore, constantly made to show off this difference,
and the local authorities were vety often persuaded to

^ accommodate the South Indian Prince. The Maharaja
of Benares—Mahataja Iswari Prasad Narain Singh — was a
very cultured individual and he always avoided such

1. a Hindi translation of these letters in the handwriting of

th : i
re ee S grandfather could be seen at the State Archives in

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VARANASI IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 305:

situations arising, but sometimes even he had to do
something to counteract such designs. On one such
occasion—it was the visit of the Prince of Wales in March
1876—the authorities had planned a proccession of the

gentry through the decorated Thatheri Bazar. The

street being narrow it was arranged that the Prince would
go in procession seated on a Tamjan. The original
arrangement had been to provide the Maharaja of Benares
also with a Tamjan in view of his old age, but this was
upset at the last moment, and it was decided that he too
should walk the whole distance from Kal Bhairava upto
Chowk—on the Princes’ right. The Vizianagaram Ma-
haraja was to walk on his left. The Prince arrived at
Kal Bhairava and got into the Tamjan. The Maharaja
of Benares too arrived there but in getting out of his
catriage strained his ankle and was unable to walk. He
suggested that he be left behind and the procession £0
ahead. What was to be done? The authorities were
in a quandary and did not know what todo. The Prince
of Wales, however, came to their rescue. The culture of
the British nobility so assiduously cultivated since the

time of Sir Phillip Sydney asserted itself. He got down

from the tamjan and graciously conducted the old Maha-
rajaontoit. Theprocession waited for a while and then
started with the Maharaja on the tamjan and the Prince
of Wales walking beside him. Soon, very soon, another
tamjan arrived and he too got seated thereon.

There was another instance of personal rivalry me
(perhaps in 1889) when another Prince of Wales visit :
Varanasi. ‘This time Raja Sir Dinkar Rao and Raja Shiva
Prasad C. S. I. were involved. Both these dentre
along with many others had a seat on the dais—in the

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306 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Prince’s Darbar at Varanasi, but a couple of days before
the date for the Prince’s arrival Raja Dinkar Rao met the
Commissioner and persuaded him to remove Raja Siva
Prasad’s seat from the dais. It was too late for the latter
‘to do anything to retrieve his position and he had to eat the
humble pie. The next day, however, he had his re-
venge. It was planned that the Prince would go in com-
pany to the Dasasvamedha Ghat and from there would go
on a decorated boat down the stream upto Raj Ghat and
from there drive back to Nadesar House. ‘The entire
company was to accompany him on boats—the V. I. P’s
remaining on the Prince’s boat. Raja Shiva Prasad arrived
at Dasasvamedha Ghat a few minutes before the Prince’s
-artival—and helped him out of his carriage, and as he did
so he remarked that. he had shown the Varanasi Ghats to
the Prince’s father, when he had visited Varanasi decades
earlier. So interested did the Prince become in Raja Shiva
: Prasad’s conversation that he took no notice of the other
V.I.P’s. and talking tothe former he got on to his boat and
went up on the roof. The conversation continued and all
others, including Raja Sir Dinkar Rao were ignored. Soon
two chairs wereplaced on theroof of the boatand the Prince
-and Raja Shiva Prasad got seated—the rest of the company
taking their seats inside the boat unnoticed by the Prince.
In due course Rajghat was reached and the Prince took
Raja Shiva Prasad on his own carriage to Nadesar House.
Similar incidents occured now and again and their
number is legion but it is not possible to describe them
here for lack of space.
H. H. Amrit Rao Peshva

Having dealt with important events and movements
during this century it is but fair to give the names of noted

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VARANASI IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 307

individuals who made history in this period. Naturally
the first name that occurs is that of His Highness Amrit
Rao Peshwa, the adopted son of Peshwa Reghunath Rao,
who lived here for long years in the Peshwa Bara at Tulsi-
ghat. He was a right royal personage, who spent lavishly
on Varanasi-ghats building three of them viz. Tulsighat,

Rajaghat, and Vinayak Rao Ghat, the last being named

after his brother. - For all practical purposes the local

authorities had unofficially conceded him full ruling

powers in Bhadaini and adjoining localities and a large .
number of reminiscences still persist about him in that

locality.

The Moghal Princes
Sons of Jahandar Shah II and their mother Qutlaq
Sultan Begum were living at Varanasi. These Princes
were a source of constant botheration to the local au-
thorities, and their successors reduced to financial bank-
ruptcy by their lack of financial acumen, were also a se-
rious problem for the Agent to the Governor General here.

Chimnaji Appa

He was the second son of Peshve Raghunath Rao and
was settled at Vatanasi in 1819 on a pension of 25,000/-,
and after his death in May 1832, his minor wife and minor
daughter were a source of considerable headache to the
local authorities by their refusal to leave Vatanasi and go
co live at Gwalior. Ultimately, however, they agreed to
live at Agra and proceeded there.

The Maharajas of Banaras
Maharaja was founded by

The present family of the ed by
Babu Mansa Ram, who arranged to obtain the Zamindari

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308 ' VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

of the Sarkars of Ghazipur, Jaunpur and Benares at twelve
lakhs a year in the name of his son Balwant Singh with the
title of Raja. The latter ruled for thirty two years, built
several forts, and towards the end of his rule became al-
most independent; and it was in his reign that Varanasi’s
temples lying in ruins were reconstructed. He was not
only a great diplomat and soldier, but also a lover of learn-
ing and fineatts. He was also a poet and author of a book
Chitra Chandrika. He did not have a legitimate son and
was succeeded by Chet Singh, whose clash with Warren
Hastings is too well known to be recorded here. After
Chet Singh‘s flight to Gwalior, Balwant Singh’s grandson
from his legitimate daughter, Mahip Narain Singh was
placed on the Benares Gadd: buthe was deprivedof Ruling
Powers and the city of Varanasi was taken away from him
and was thenceforth administered directly by British
authorities. In spite of this fact, however, the Maharajas
of Benares have commanded immense respect from people
of Varanasi, and the latter have always considered them
the representatives of Lord Visvanath, and this sentiment
obtains even today.

The next incumbant on the throne of Benares Raj,
Raja Udit Narain Singh played a prominent part in pacify,
ing the people of Varanasi in difficult times as has be
mentioned earlier. His successor Maharaja Iswari Prasad
Narain Singh was on his Gaddi from 1835 to 1889. (See
portrait) He was a man of exceedingly cultivated taste
and could be safely taken as a true representative of `
Benares Culture, about which anon. He was dedicated to
learning and was a patron of fine arts and a great-lover
and connoisseur of music and poetry. His court was all
the time adorned by the top-notchers in these spheres and

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VARANASI IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 309

his own performance in some of these was not inconsider-
able. Flowers, vegetation, fruits and animals, and birds
all had their representation in his art gallery- mostly
the work of Lal Chandra and Gopal Chandra, his court
painters — masters of the newly developed “Company
Style” of painting. They have also left us a large number
of portraits — mainly of the Maharaja’s courtiers and con-
temporaries, the latter being represented by the portraits
of the Rajas of Dumraon, Ausanganj and Tamkuhi. —
He was the central figure in all cultural activities of his
time and always occupied the first place in all these and
wielded immense influence over the ‘Varanasi people. The
income from his estate was not sufficient to bear the strain
of his benefactions and ceremonial ostentation, but he
succeeded in maintaining the outstanding position he had
built up for himself and his Gaddi. ‘The tiger-skin tent
of the Maharaja and the liveries of his entourage to match,

created wonderment at the Imperial Assemblage in

_ Delhi in 1877; and the resplendant canopies of the grent
Princes of India paled into insignificance before his ee :
tentage. He was so popular in Varanasi and nearby par :
that clay images of his fine figure were available 10 : a
in Varanasi and Allahabad fairs and decorated the araw-
Varanasi citizens.
2 ae eae by Maharaja Sir Prabhu Narain

Singh, who kept up the tradition of his predecessor in

all matters. The Government of India invested him

with Ruling powers in 1912 and thus it was Jn his pea
that the old status of the House was once again x ot
ed. He was succeeded by Maharaja Aditya i

Singh, whose tule was unfortunately very short. 2a°

present Maharaja Dr. Vibhuti Narain Singh is a great

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310 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

advocate of Varanasi culture and the city’s ancient tradi-
tions. He has donated several lakhs of rupees for the
fe-suscication of ancient Hindu literature and other
noble causes and continues to doso. He has recently
offered several hereditary scholarships to learned Pandits
and is always ready to beftiend the learned-and the de-
serving. He leads the life of an ideal Hindu Prince.
' Others 7
There were some other scions of nobility living in
Varanasi, among whom may be mentioned Mahataja of
Vizianagaram (grandfather of the famous Vizzy of the
Cricket world), who lived in tight royal style and gave
Varanasi its Town Hall:andNawab Iqbaluddola of Nawab-
ganj (a son of King Saadat Ali Khan of Oudh), who was
famous for his collection of invaluable jewels ad whom
Maharaja Iswari Prasad Narain Singh of Benares addressed
as Hazur” in view of his belonging to the Oudh Royalty.
Ultimately he migrated to Iran. Then there was the family
of Ausan Singh headed by Raja Deva Narain Singh and
TER os Sti Narain Singh, Shiva Narain Singh
vatya Narain Si in Si
ao Nee a eee Suambhia Narain Singh and
E r Bengali nobility was teptesented by Raja Jainarain
Os al, Raja Rajendra Mittra and his son Hon’ble Vires-
vata Mittra, and the Banking firm of Anandmaya Mittra
who came to Varanasi in 1819 and was later represented by
Guru Das Mittra, who is believed to have missed the title
of Raja in competition with Babu Shiva Prasad, who
ultimately obtained the title. The former, ROTETA got a
medal in the Imperial Assemblage at Delhi in 1877. Then
there was Babu Pramada Das Mittra, who combined
Sanskrit learning with English scholarship and refused to

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"æ. >- -
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VARANASI IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 311.

receive the title of Mahamahopadhyaya on the ground that
that title must remain confined to Brahmans and accepted
a Rai Bahadurship instead. Then there were Babus Ram
Kali Chaudhhari, Girish Chandra De and Kashi Nath
Biswas.

The Bankers of Varanasi were represented by. the
firms of Sitaram Naik Kalia, Sitaram Keshoram, Madhuban
Das Dwarika Das, Brij Bushan Das, Lacchi Ram Gopinath
(also one. of the biggest brocade merchants), Nanhumal
Gopal Das (also specialised in Brocade business and were
the Choudhuries in that line), Batuk Prasad Khattri,
Chunni Lal, who was also the ‘Treasurer of Maharaja of
Benares, Lalji Gopal Das, and Chaudhri Ram Prasad.
Another Banking firm, which migrated to Varanasi from
Azameath soon after 1857, Ratan Chand Lallu Mal and
their successors Balkishan Das Bisheshar Prasad are per-
haps the biggest bankers of Varanasi today. Raja Moti
Chand: and Babu Siva Prasad Gupta, the founder of the
Kashi Vidyapith and Gyan Mandal Limited, which apart
from publication of valuable books also runs the famous
Hindi daily the ‘Aj’, belonged to this family.

Then there werte Pandit Beni Ram, who saved Warren
Hastings at Varanasi and led him to safety to Chunar, and
his brother Bishambhar Pandit, the name of the firm
being Beniram Madhoram. It was this family which
started the Ratha Yatra fair at Vatanasi.

. ‘There was also the family of Sahu Gopal Das (died
1805), who in his day dealt directly with the Govetnors
General of India and whose son Manohar Das was in-
charge of Commissariat arrangements at the Siege of Ser-
ingapatam. His successor Mukund Das spent his patri-
mony lavishly and earned the title of Jhakkar Shah for his

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312 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

eccentricity. Later in the 19th century the family was
represented by Dr. Bhagwan Das, and his brother Govind
Das, the former being the father of the Hon’ble Sri Sri
Prakash, who became the Rajyapal of three States in
succession. Dr. Bhagwan Das was one of the greatest
Philosophers of Varanasi and had the unique distinction
of being awarded the highest decoration in free India that
of Bharata Ratna. A word about the academic abilities
of his brother Govind Das who died early would show the
culture of Vatanasi students during the eighties and early
ninetees of the last century. Govind Das was a student
of the Intermediate Class of the Queen’s College for very
many years .as he could not master Mathematics, which
was compulsory; but so high was his natural ability that in
the absence of the Professor of Philosophy from Varanasi,
he was officially requested to take the M. A. Classes of the
Queen’s College in Philosophy and the students respect-
fully listened to his learned lectures. His sons have kept
up the family tradition for academic abilities . Another
family of Agarwals famous for its wealth was the family
of Madhoji and Bisuji, and yet another of the same brother-
hood was the Rai family, who had earned distinction at
the Moghal Court and had been awarded the hereditary
titles of ‘Rai’ and ‘Ali Khandan’. Several members of the ©
family had been granted the titles of Raja and Raja Patni
Mal had actually negotiated treaties of the East India.
Company with the Nawabs of Oudh, Maharana of Gohad,
and the Maharaja Scindhia of Gwalior, which earned him
the title of Raja, and later of Raja Bahadur. Dr. Rai
Govind Chandra represents the branch now and is a great
antiquarian and author of several books. ‘This family
also gave birth to the famous raises of Varanasi, Rai Lallan-

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VARANASI IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 313

ji, Chhaganji, and Krishnaji, the last being considered the
last vetaran Rais of Varanasi. Rai Krishna Das, the
. famous litterateur and att critic, who was decorated with
Padma Bhushan (which he later gave up in connection
with Hindi agitation) and his illustrious son Dr. Rat
Anand Krishna also belong to this family. Then there
was Sunghni Sahu, whose family has given us that famous
poet Jai Shankar Prasad. :

A Nagar Brahman family also moved from Ahmadabad

to Varanasi via Delhi, and Lucknow, whose membets had —

earned the title of ‘Munshi’ because of their attainments.
Their main business was banking, although several of
them also took to service. Among the latter was Munshi
Beni Lal, who was a Munsif, and his son the Hon’ble Raja
Madholal, who retired as a judge and afterwards became
member of the Provincial Legislature in 1900 and that of
the Viceroy’s Council in 1909. His brother Sadholal died
quite young and he created in his name a handsome en-
dowment at the Goverment. Sanskrit College Varanasi.
Coming to individuals, there were Rai Baldeo Sahai

and Purushottam Das of Shivala Ghat. The latter obtained
d spent it rather

his large patrimony quite young an
ruthlessly, expending about fifty thousand rupees in one
day on the occasion of the betrothal of his younget brother
Haridas. He was the son of Babu Sangamlal, who had
constructed the Dandi Ghat and the Dwarkadhish temple
at Shankhudhara and the stone embankment of the tank
there, while his own son Jagannath Das earned immense
fame as a Hindi poet — the last giant of Braja Bhasha Poetry,
under the pen name of Ratnakar. Then there was Babu
Deoki Nandan Singh who built and owned the famous
Deoki Nandan Ki Haveli, and Ram Krishna Das of

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314 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Nandan Sahu Mohalla, who was the proprietor of the
Angrezi Kothi — which carried'on direct import-business `
with the United Kingdom, and who ultimately migrated
to England and settled down there.

Mahant Bihari Puri of Visvanath Gali, Mahant Tambu
Rai of Kumaraswami Math, and Babas Ram Prasad and
his brother Gutu Prasad, both of them Mahants of Udasi
Sect were also notable persons in their day. So was the’
Mahant of the Jangambari Math. |

An athlete of Shivala Ghat Ibrahim Beg also created
history by breaking silver rupees with his fingers.

Among the intellectuals mention may be made of
Kailas Nath Sukul, who as a lad of seventeen had been
declared the best student of the Queen’s College during
Lord Dalhousi’s visit there and had received the Governor
Gental’s pocket Gold Watch’ as a reward in 1854. He
had grown into an academic giant — Speaking nineteen
languages both foreign and Indian. He was a doctor, an
engineer of repute (having built a bridge on the river
Sooan in Balrampur), a gifted musician — and incidentally
also the most handsome person of Varanasi in ‘his day.
He was also elected as a delegate from Varanasi for the
Calcutta Congress in 1886. | ee

Pandit Mathura Prasad Mista was another scholar of
English whose abilities in that language were recognised.
He was the only Indian Headmaster of the Queen’s
Collegiate School in its history and was the author of the
Trilingual Dictionary, so famous in its day. ;

Then there were Hindi savants and poets, among
whom could be mentioned Sardat Kavi, Lachhi Ram,

1 The gold watch can be seen in the museum of the Sanskrit
University, Varanasi. -

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VARANASI IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 315 -

Baba Din Dayal Giri, Pandit Durga Dutt, Hanuman
Kavi, Sewak Kavi, Pandit Ishwar Datt, Deva Swami
(also known as Kashthajihvaswami), and Devi Sahai

Bajpai. Raja Lakshman Singh, Chaudhari Badri Narain `

Upadhya (who wrote his poems under the pen name of
Premghan), Radha Krishna Das, Rao Krishna Dev,
Sharana Singh (of Bharatpur), Gosvami Sri Krishna
Chaitanya Deva, Kartik Prasad Khattri, Ambika Datt
Vyasa, Ram Krishna Varma, Pratap Narain Misra and
Mahamahopadhyaya Pandit Sudhakar Dvivedi were
other luminous stars in Varanasi firmament. So were
Manideva and Gokul Nath court poets of Maharaja of
Benares (who translated the Mahabharata in Hindi verse)
and several others patronised by the Maharaja.
Harish Chandra |
And last but not the least important was Bharatendu
Harish Chandra, the greatest luminary in the Hindi world.
Born in Samvat yeat 1907, he lived but a short life of thirty
four years but during that period created the standard
Hindi language (earning the title- Father of modern
Hindi), wrote more than a hundred books, including
Dramas (and also a book on Dramatics) and epical poems,
brought out several journals and magazines and was por-
haps the first poet, who sang songs of Nationalism theteby
earning the displeasure of the Government. He was a
<< and a great benefactor of the poor— giving
ot T a 5 al lakh of rupees to the needy
away his patrimony of several ia p ae
and the poor to relieve their misery. He was gi a
Title of Bharatendu ee ae. eee ae,
j counterblast to Kaj ie
a ck the Stat of India given by the government
for his political services. cotta

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ee a eee ee ee

316 ' VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Raja Shiv Prasad C. S. I.

A teacher of Bharatendu Harishchandra, but later
on his adversary on the language question, Raja Siva
Prasad was ‘a notable person in his day. He had ren-
dered considerable political services to the Government
and was appointed Joint Inspector of Schools. In the
matter of language he introduced a mixture of Hindi
and Urdu which was opposed by Harishchandra and thus
they parted company and even became adversaries. He
wrote several books in that language which became
text. books. } 3
_ Inthe Sanskrit world there were giants galore. There
were Kashi Nath Shastri and his grand pupil the far-famed ,
Bal Shastri, who arranged to perform a Soma-Sacrifice,
and his pupils Mahamahopadhyaya Pandit Shiva Kumar
Shastri, Tantya Shastri, Damodar Shastri Bharadwaja, and
the latter’s pupil Sabhapati Upadhyaya. Then there was
M. M. Gangadhar Shastri C. I. E. (who earned the title of
‘Walking Library’ from European Scholats of his day),
along with his pupils Nityanand Parvatiya, Bhavani Datt
Dikshit, Damodar Lal Goswami, Ramavatar Sharma,
Tara Charana Bhattacharya, Satya Narain Shastri (who
earned great fame as an Ayutvedic Physician in the pre-
Sent century and was the last giant in that field perhaps
in the whole of Northern India) and Narayana Shastri
Khiste. Mention must also be made here of the great
Nyaya Scholar M. M. Vama Charana Bhattacharya with.
his pupils Panditraj Rajeswar Shastri Dravida (who has
earned the distinction of Padma Bhushana) and Shiva
Datt Misra Gaur. M. M. Prabhu Datt with his pupil
Vidyadhar Gaur, Ananda Charana Tarkachuramani and
Gopinath Kaviraj also deserves mention. There also were

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VARANASI IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 317

two Sanyasi giants, both in the sphere of Yoga and Ve-
danta Philosophy Swami Vishuddhanand Sarasvati and
Swami Bhaskaranand Sarasvati, whose names have also been
mentioned in the chapter on spiritual giants. M. M. Shiva.
Kumar Shastriand Pramatha Nath Tarkabhushan sat at the
feet of the former and so did many others who specialised
in this particular sphere of Hindu Philosophy. |
= Amrita Shastri of Ratan Phatak was a bright luminary”
in Ayurveda and M. M. Pandit Bapu Deva Shastri C. 1. E..
a great mathematician and an astronomer of repute,
whose greatness was acknowledged even in Europe, in
recognition of which he was made an Honorary Fellow of
the Royal Asiatic Society. (See portrait) The former- was
followed by his son Vaidyaratna Pt. Triambak Shastri,.
decidedly the greatest Ayurvedic Physician of India,
` who earned international fame. He was past master in
the science of the Pulse (Nari Vigyanam) and made
diagnosis on that basis, which startled the European.
Doctors, whom he challenged successfully on several
occasions. (See portrait) He had a host of pupils, among:
‘whom the name of Pt: Sri Nivasa Shastri may be men-
tioned as outstanding, along with that of Baldevaji of
Baragaon in the Varanasi District. Kaviraj Dharma Das
was also a great Vaidya and his piupil Pt. Satyanarayan.
Shastri mentioned earlier was another luminary in the
field of Nari Vigyana. (See portrait) Another giant in .
Astronomy was M. M. Pt. Sudhakar Dvivedi.

Names of notables in the field of music and painting
have been already given in chapters dealing with those -
subjects and are not being repeated here.

There had been another important movement during

this century — this time in the gastronomical field—

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318 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

earning for this city an all-India fame, which occasionally
.travelled across the ocean and tickled the palates of
Western aristocrats and gourmands too. The Varanasi
‘sweets attained immense heights during this century —
specially Magdals of Rama Sahu of Bibi Hatia, Pedas and
Gup-chups of Das Halwai also of Bibi Hatia, and Moti-
churs of Purushottam Sahu and Jhagi Barfi of Khubi
Sahu both of Siddhesvari, and Akbaris of Gopal Das of
Chaukhambha. All these sweets except Magdal were
made of non-cereal material‘and hundreds of artists in the
line were making efforts to catch up with the masters.
Malai (semisolid cream in-layers) was another speciality _
of which Malau Sahu of Kal Bhairava was the
acknowledged master in the present century. So was
Ghamandi Sahu for his Rabri known in Varanasi as-
~Basaundhi. In the field of fruits the Varanasi Langra
mango had already held the highest position for centuries
and had successfully competed with its rival the Dasehri
of Malihabad. Another fruit of Varanasi, which stands
unrivalled in the whole of India and probably in the
world is Anola (Emblic Myrobalan). It is produced all
over Northern India but the size and quality of Varanasi
Anola is unsurpassed, and even there the fruit of four or
five trees in the Maharaja’s gardens at Ram Nagar are
wonderful. Preserved in sugar they weigh almost two
hundred grams each. Varanasi also holds a record in
the production of flowers, and cartloads of Marigold
can be had during the season and they are exported to
the nearby districts, and even to Calcutta and Lucknow.
The city has been famous for its flowers since the _
eighth century B. C. when it had earned the name of
Pushpavati on that score.

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VARANASI IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 319

Another article in which Varanasi specialises are betel
leaves. ‘They ate not produced here and are imported.
Magahi — a special and delicate variety comes in its green
condition from Gaya, but it is ‘cured’ here into marble
whiteness — the process being a closely guarded secret.
The leaf can be preserved for about eight months and
gains in price every day, till the old leaves sell. for a rupee
each in October and November. The Varanasi citizen
is an addict to chewing prepared betel leaves and there
ate several thousand shops preparing and selling them.
Formerly the art of preparing them in such a way as to
produce heat or cold at will by chewing them was known
to some individuals, Kailas Nath Sukul being one of
them. Rai Chhaganji too had learut it from him as he
boastfully announced to a City Magistrate? of Varanasi
` more than fifty years ago, whom he made sweat on an
extremely cold morning, without adding anything over
and above its four usual constituents viz. slaked lime,
Catechu, Betelnut and betel leaves. -The att is however,
lost now, even in the families which knew it .

BB Sao ag
1. Sri Shiva Kiran Nath Misra, P. C. S.

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CHAPTER 13
THE VARANASI CULTURE .

After going through the foregoing pages it must have
become clear that Varanasi has a distinct individuality
that has gradually developed over the ages since the hoary
_ ‘past, when the city was founded four thousand years ago,
and in consequence the people of this ancient city have in
course of these centuries evolveda philosophy of life quite
distinct from that of other places in India — or outside.

Starting from the righteous Vedic culture Varanasi
continued to develop along normal Aryan lines. There
was plenty of spiritual exaltation from the Rigvedic lore —
combined with the music of the'Sama and the scientific
spirit of the Atharva, strengthened later by Vaisheshik
Philosophy; but simultaneously there was the bard who
“tells the lore of living” (Rigveda 10.71.11) and a combi-
nation of these religious and philosophical elements with
thescientificand the utilitarian produced the Aryan concept
of life and how it was to be lived. Varanasi, however,
soon started on its own individual course and when one
of its Kings became a top philosopher of his times, it was
realised that spiritual and intellectual bliss was an essential
‘element for the achievement of beatitude, and so Varanasi
developed an attitude of mind unaffected by physical and
other worldly adversities, which were merely the punish-
ment for earlier sins and had to be borne in any case.
Where was the good of crying over these unimportant
aspects of life] And the graciousness of goddess Anna-
purna and Visvanatha gave additional strength to bear

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THE VARANASI CULTURE 321

calamities and even continuous suffering with a smile
and with a contentment not usually met with elsewhere.
Why weep for the present passing phase of sufferings
when the ultimate bliss is assured ?

Thus while faith strengthened the will to wear a smile
even in misfortunes of life, it also gave the strength to
bear them without flinching, in addition to the feeling that
Lord Visvanatha was in Varanasi, and so “allis right with
the world.”

The Varanasi citizen was thus armed with three unassail-
able traits. He had faith in his ultimate spiritual destiny—
Emancipation — for Visvanath would look to that when
he died. He ignored the sufferings of life as of no signi-
ficance, and his ever-happy mind discovered plenty. of
occasions in life foran unalloyed enjoyment of its opportu-
nities. To this was added his intellectual achievements.
The atmosphere in Varanasi was so full of spiritual and
intellectual excellence that even the uneducated person
here knew mote about these matters by experience and
intuition than many educated persons outside this learned
city. ‘This gave him an exalted view of himself and some
sort of a native pride — undisfigured by vanity but leading
to self-respect —even self-esteem and a well rounded
individuality. ‘There was also the natural instinctive love.
of his country in general.and of his city in particular. He
was of Varatanasi and Varanasi was his— that Varanasi
which provided him with all that was worth living for
and much more than what hedeserved. He was content
to live- and ultimately to die there. No place on earth
was holier or better. Sage Valmiki had already said this
(quoted in an earlier chapter) and that was his own per-
sonal view too.

pN 7 A - > . Re
i A E Pe ete eee

322 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

He had inherited an acute mind, and a cultured out-
look, which despised all that was not upright, and a will
to live a full life-a life bubbling with enjoyment — even
in the midst of adverse circumstances. ‘Thus, while he
loved good things of life and enjoyed them, he was con-
tent to live in Varanasi even on coarse food and his pure
Ganga-water for was it not the seat of his Lord.
Thus he was free from dissatisfaction with his lot, was
confident about his future and had no worries in regard
to “tomorrow”. If he had money he would spend it
like a lord in healthy enjoyments, but above all in helping
the needy — till he was in need himself, and even then his
lament would be that he did not now have the means to
lessen the misery of his fellow men. He would still not
worry about his own discomfort, for Goddess Annapurna
provided food to evety one in her city and Lord Visva-
nath did the rest. So he was free from all cares like a
child in his mother’s arms — and like a child he led a life
of enthusiastic and playful exhilarity; and as this
attitude of mind developed further, his life very often
became one long story of physical enjoyment- some-
times even degenerating into exceptionable behaviour.
But even there he did-not lose his moorings. The values
of conduct assiduously built up and cherished by Varanasi
still kept him from degradation. -

Fond of betel and his mouth full of it, the Varanasi
man roamed about in his scanty dress, with a flower gar-
land round his neck (which he had just received from his
Lord in the temple) and saffron sandal paste on his fore-
head, serene and contented, and ‘cared for no man he”.
And, if he had the good luck of having a draught of the
famous Varanasi t¢handai , coloured with the favourite

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THE VARANASI CULTURE 323

herby intoxicant of the city, he considered himself no
way inferior to a king. Early morning’ walks to distant
gardens or across the Ganga to the sands on the other side
on a boat, a draught of freshly prepared handai there and
a teturn to the holy river for a bath followed by some
sott of worship, and then a bea-lineto some temple. That
was the routine; and as he left the fane after paying his
obeisance to his Lord, he was a happy man indeed — full
of bliss that was not of this earth. He greeted his friends
with a hearty smile and did not mind a joke or two at his
expense — or even a few loving abuses, and was able to
give a hearty laugh even against himself on suitable
occasions. | |

He loved festivities and was fond of witnessing enter-
taining events even at the cost of a little physical discom-
fort. Cynicisin of any kind had no place in his life, and
even the physical inconveniences of old age did not mar
his joys and pleasantries. He was fond of physical fitness
and cleanliness, both of the body and in the matter of
clothes.’ In fact Safa-pani (elaborate cleaning of clothes)
was an institution in Varanasi and is scrupulously prac-
tised even today. Plain-speaking was his forte and
‘sarcasm his weapon of offence and defence—and his
dialogue could often contain genuine literary merit. He
was ready to sacrifice anything to presetve his selfres-
pect — and did so with all the fervour at his command.

Caste, religion, sect, and even nationality have never
been barriers in the matter of accepting the Varanasi cul-
ture, and persons of all persuasions could and did become
followers of this creed inspite of their diversity in other
respects. All who came to make Varanasi their home
became converts to this view of lifesoon enough, and even

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324 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

if they went out again they did not cease to be its votaries
in realms beyond. One could recognise a Varanasi-man
in other cities— even in foreign countries — such was the
stamp of its culture that he carried about him, and even
today he is clearly marked out in this respect. In spite
of its distance (both geographical and cultural) Bombay
has not been able to swamp his individuality — and he
remains there as a clearly marked out personality.

Even the goondas of Varanasi had their own code of
conduct. ‘They were brave and strong and considered it
_ beneath their dignity to worry the ordinary citizen. They
fought furiously with their counterparts but never enjoyed
killing even their enemies. They were only after a
victory over their rivals — no more — and a defeated enemy
was sacto-sanct. They protected the weak against the
strong and were the first to protest against the use of
nasty abuses. ‘They were obstinate in their views and
traditions and there is on record an instance of the usual
Holi procession taken out in defiance of an official ban
by the authorities, which resulted in the death of a hun-
dred goondas and quite fifty soldiers near the Godowlia
crossing.

It is not intended to suggest that Varanasi culture
was all virtue. There were important shortcomings and
evendefects. Theoutlook on life presented above tended
to make people lazy and even encouraged them to waste
their time on trivialities. Love of entertainment and
physical enjoyment vety often led to undesirable behaviour.
Music had been degraded from its position and was inthe
hands of persons not always respectable and their contact
had a hand in moral degradation of Varanasi citizens —
specially its youth. :

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THE VARANASI CULTURE 325

This was the picture of Varanasi culture as it had
developed over the ages, and if one were to point out a
true representative thereof in recent times the choice
would rightly fall on Bharatendu Harishchandra; and
those who knew him or have read about him will agree
that he had all the virtues and vices of his city. Hespent
his patrimony of several lakh of rupees — lavishly giving
help to the needy and enjoying the spurt of joy on their
' faces on receiving anonymous gifts. He was a great
lover and a great patriot, full of self-respect even self-es-
teem, happy on all occasions — writing poetry himself and
enjoying it from other pens. He loved music and took
part in all festivities around him both public and private.
His intrinsic culture prevented his behaviour from be-
coming questionable even in disagreements. He was
outspoken but never rude, and his rebukes were taunts
that moved but did not hurt. |

If one were to sum up the entire gamut of Varanasi
culture in one ot two words, they would be Mayj and
Masti-two words which seem to have no parallels in the
English language. The former epitomises all that goes
by the generic terms enjoyment, conviviality, festivity,
jollity, gaeity, and other similar ideas, while Masti en-
visages contentment, serenity, placidity, tranquility,
exhilaration, geniality, boyancy, self-esteem, heartiness,
and even recklessness and wayward obstinacy.

Varanasi culture as represented above was in full
form till fifty years ago, and. synchronising with the
discontinuance of the famous Burhwa Mangal and Gulab-
bari festivities-two most typical illustrations of the
Varanasi culture as it existed in the eighteenth and nine-
teenth centuries — the latter itself started on its death

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326 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

match. Vicissitudes of life consequent on rising prices in
the beginning and later on the civic invasion of Varanasi
by the citizens of other provinces in numbers which ex-
ceeded the total population of Varanasi, swamped the
atmosphere, and the Varanasi man found himself surround-
ed on all sides by this avalanche of the cultures of the
Punjab and Sindh onthe onehand and of Eastern Ben-
gal on the other. He started getting suffocated, and in
sheer dispait had to adapt himself to these changed and
changing conditions of life. The Varanasi culture is at
present in the throes of an agonising disintegration. ‘The
older representatives of that way of life still survive but
their number is fast dwindling and the younger genera-
tion are keen at imbibing the culture of Varanasi’s guests
including the Hippis. |

Varanasi has had the resilience of rising even from its
ashes time and again, and who knows its culture may also
have a similar rennaisance, and arise once again with a
fresher vigour and a greater glory !

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ApPENDIX

This is some sort of an inventory of the various Shrauta
Yajnas performed in Varanasi according to the great Vedic
scholar Visvanatha Vamana Deva of Varanasi.

There are about ten localities in the city where Yajnas
have been performed during the last hundred yeats or a
little more.

1) Bangali Bara- near V isvesvarganj, where the
garden of Rai Bahadur Pandit Madhoram Sand is now
situated. fab;

2) Bhairava Bavali-at present occupied by Kashi
Goshala. :

3) Rajmandir near Brahmaghat.

4) Ram Katora and adjacent Bolia Bagh.

5) Theenclosure of Renuka Devi Temple near Durga
Kund.

6) Satichaura in Sukhlal Sahu Phatak, where the
Lachhi Ram Dharmashala now stands.

7) Assi Ghat.

8) Near Kashi Devi Temple in Sapta Sagar.

9) Near Durga Devi Temple in Ram Nagat.

10) Village Bhulanpur in Rohania thana.

The earliest, (just before living memory) a Soma Yajna
was performed by Vamana Dikshita Pathak. Next came
Chayana Yaga by Namaskare in the Renuka temple
- enclosure about 1860, followed by a Soma Yaga by Har
Dikshit Kale in Bengali Bara and succeeded in 1890 by a

i bk) Soma Yaga by Panduranga Dikshit in Rajmandir. In

1895 Aptoryama Yaga was performed by Vinayaka Shastri
Gadgil at Bhairava Bavali, and about the same time a

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328 VARANASI DOWN THE AGES

Soma Yaga was performed at the instance of the famous
scholar Bal Shastri Ranade in his Yajnashala at Rajmandir. ~

at Sati Chautra in which Raghunath Rao Gaudkag acted i
as the Hota. Later on Shiromani Shastri Nepali per- “
formed two: Shrauta Yajnas — the Atyagnishtoma and
another — spending about two lacs of rupees. ‘Thei'Soma
Dikshit Kale performed Soma Yaga at Bhulanpur on

behalf of the Hon’ble Raja Madho Lal. Mikoji Pant ` -

Shastri performed a Soma Yaga near the Durga Devi
temple at Ram Nagar, to be followed by Sadasiva Shastri
Soman and Yagyeshvara Dikshit Mahabaleshwarkar in
two separate Yajnas at Bangali Bara. Purushottam Shastri
Dravida performed a Soma Yaga at Hanuman Ghat and
Shital Pande at Bangali Bara. So did Raghunathji Agni-
hotri at Assi, at which Lakshmi Nath Pathak and Lak-
shmanji Ganorkar acted as priests. Gangadhar Agni-
-hotri was responsible for a Soma Yaga at Sapta Sagar,
so was Shashibhushana Agnihotri at the same place.
The last Yajna—a Soma Yaga- nineteenth in this.
series was performed by Rishishankar Tripathi on the
grounds of Kashiraja Nyasa at Shivalaghat in April :
1966.

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